How Was California Gold Rush A Turning Point In American History

The cost of living at the beginning of the Gold Rush, was dramatically increasing as more people traveled to California in search of gold. In the article “The Gold Rush,” it states “In 1849, San Francisco’s population skyrocketed from 812 to 20,000 people. The cost of land soared – the same plot of land which had cost $16 in 1847, sold for $45,000 just eighteen months later. Prices of goods and commodities also rose. Fresh produce was in high demand, with apples selling for $5 each and a dozen eggs for $50”.

The 49ers And The California Ethos Gold was discovered in California in 1848 (Holliday, 1998, 1). The news about the discovery of gold in California spread locally and globally, attracting people from all over the world, as this historical event is famously known as the California Gold Rush. Gold diggers and wealth seekers arrived to California with the dream of becoming rich and improving their standard of living. These people, eager to become rich instantly, left their families and farms behind. This essay analyzes the motivations of the early gold-seekers, and how the 49’ers objectives were changed when they met the reality of the California gold fields.

The discovery of gold in the Sacramento Valley in 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush, one of the most significant events to shape America.1 From 1848-1855, thousands of immigrants came to California to mine for gold. San Francisco grew from a population of 1,000 to 20,000 in two years due to this.2 Many men left their jobs to try their luck at getting rich from mining gold. A total of $2 billion worth of gold was extracted from California by the end of 1852.1 On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American river at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains near Coloma, CA.1 Marshall found it while constructing a sawmill on a water powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. Sutter was a European immigrant that help found Nueva Helvetia (New Switzerland).

Especially following the Mexican American War, curiosity formed as the U.S. came into the possession of new territories (California, Nevada, Utah, etc.). In January 1848, James Marshall, a carpenter, was building a sawmill for a Swiss immigrant when he spotted something shiny in the American River (Gold Rush Impacts). His discovery of gold in California would set off a chain reaction leading to mass migrations, and expansion of infrastructure and communication. The California Gold Rush profoundly impacted the United States in the second half of the 19th century, by strengthening global economies, creating social structures, and altering the geographic makeup

In January of 1848, a carpenter in California made a discovery that changed the history of North America, 2 cold nuggets. Shortly after people flocked towards California with the hopes of gaining big and forever changing their lives. The U.S. quickly made California into a state and benefited greatly from it. The California Gold Rush greatly enhanced the U.S. economy and greatly changed our country.

The California Gold Rush When an American thinks about the history of the state of California, what exactly comes to mind? An article written on the website of http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849 explains, “The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush, arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century.” With this event beginning on January 24, 1848, the history of the United States would forever be altered. The California Gold Rush is known in common households all over the United States.

I. The California Gold Rush is claimed to be the most known gold rush in the U.S. if not the world. The phenomenon was started by one man and his name is James Marshall, although John Shutter owned the land he found it on. The fist gold that marshal found was in the American River and he said “my heart thumped for I knew it was gold”. Because of his find the California Gold Rush was born, 1848, then died seven years later in 1855.

The California Gold Rush was an event crucial to the development of California. The discovery of gold caused a mass migration to the area and attracted all kinds of people from as far as China, and as close as a couple towns away from the initial discovery site. Even though the chances of success were slim, prospectors and entrepreneurs alike tried to capitalize on the gold in hopes of gaining wealth. The Gold Rush was a major reason for people from all over the globe to come to California. This influx of people caused exponential growth in California’s economy, industries, and population.

The California Gold Rush affected not only California, as well as the entire outcome of our nation. It created the expansion of our nation into Western America and California. It brought one of the largest and craziest mass migrations in history. It brought hundreds of thousands of Americans and foreigners in hopes of striking it rich. Yet an extreme few of the many of amateur miners even struck it rich.

Even though there has been some positives to the California Gold Rush. There are some negatives to the Gold Rush and one of those negatives is the affect that it had on the environment. The environment during and after the Gold Rush was horrible because of all of the trees they cut down, the hydraulic mining, and the mercury that they used to separate the gold from the ground. According to my first site, “The Gold Rush also had a severe environmental impact. Rivers became clogged with sediment; forests were ravaged to produce timber; biodiversity was compromised and soil was polluted with chemicals from the mining process.

The San Francisco Gold Rush had a huge impact on the economy. In the early days of the gold rush, gold seekers made their living primarily by mining gold, but many business opportunities related to the gold rush soon emerged. Merchants began to establish stores and bars in San Francisco to supply the goods and services needed by the gold seekers, such as food, drink, utensils, cameras, and so on. In addition, as more people came to San Francisco, the real estate market began to boom. The growing population and business opportunities led to a rush of construction and rising land prices.

First Response The California Gold Rush began on Jan 1848. The founder of its first majestic gold was James W. Marshall. That was the new, daring adventure for many Americans who held hope, and optimism. By the 1850’s there was a large population of 300,000 newcomers that ventured out and settled in California.

The California Gold Rush marked a significant event in U.S. history that will be remembered

The California Gold Rush was a rush of people in search of gold in California. The gold was discovered in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 which sparked the gold rush. The rush was a huge influence in how America was shaped into what it is today. It shaped California into what it is today. Without this gold rush California would be like it is today but it would have taken way more years and it wouldn’t be such a diversely populated state.

"California presented to people a new model for the American dream—one where the emphasis was on the ability to take risks, the willingness to gamble on the future,” writes H.W. Brands, historian and educator of U.S. history. The gold rush, the event responsible for bringing several immigrants to California in search of gold, clearly displayed the idea of Manifest Destiny, the idea that the U.S.’ expansion was a given right. While the gold rush may have impacted history, not all of these effects were good. Through the gold rush, the environment was negatively affected and several Native Americans were pushed out of California. When gold was discovered in California during 1848, it acted as a renewal in the adventurous spirit of several Americans.