California Gold Mining System

When the California Gold Rush took off almost everyone wanted to try their luck in California, and the first thing they had to do is get there. If you on the eastern side of the United State or from European you had two choices to get to California they were the sea or land route, but if you were on the Pacific Ocean coast you direct sea route to there. The land route took you across the great United State through some of its most extremes weather and terrain, and traveler had survived the untamed west on their own and what they bring. Also, they had to struggle against diseases outbreaks such as Cholera which the text said, “As many as 1500 travelers died from Cholera along the Overland Trail in 1849” (Gillon, 298). The most popular route

The California gold rush started on January 24th, 1848 when a carpenter by name of James Wilson Marshall who found gold flakes in the American river at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. According to History.com “Marshall was working to build a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter”. Due to the discovery of gold in California many people flocked to have their chance at wealth.

The effects of the Gold Rush were substantial. At first, loose gold nuggets could be picked up off the ground, and since there was no law regarding property rights in the goldfields, a system of "staking claims" was developed. In 1849, a state constitution, governorship, and legislature were established, and as part of the Compromise of 1850, California officially became a US state. Agriculture and ranching expanded throughout the state to meet the needs of the settlers. Roads and other towns were built throughout the new state, and new methods of transportation developed as

In January of 1848 California struck gold; this marked the beginning of California’s transformation. The Gold Rush brought men pouring into California from all over the world. Chinese, European, and Mexican men left their wives and children behind for a chance at this golden opportunity. Settling in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Stockton; new lives, cities and traditions began to form in this frontier society.

While the United States of America were developing and people there were exploring the territory, land and its natural resources, they discovered gold under the earth’s surface, in the mines. In January, 1848, James W. Marshall, found a shiny yellow piece of metal, wandering along the tailrace on the American River. Afterwards the inspection, he claimed that it was a gold nugget. (Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1889). History of California, Volume 23: 1843–1850. San Francisco: The History Company. pp. 32–34.) At that time, with reference to “History of California” written by Hubert Howe, the famous Gold Rush took place in California. Miners were working hard in order to search for more gold pieces. However, miners needed a strong, high quality material

Before the start of the Gold Rush in 1849, California was a Mexican territory. It is Key to note (for later understanding of the issues concerning land ownership and makeshift law within the gold mining districts) that the Gold Rush was not a factor of concern for neither country within the Mexican War. The Mexican War was sparked by the increasingly hostile territorial disputes between Mexico and the, at the time, Republic of Texas. These territorial disputes of regions within California led to the United States

After the gold rush, transportation improvements were being made, immigration was going up and so was mining. The 49’s were the first people to reach the mines, although this was not good news, the 49’rs did increase the immigration to California which led to Diversity also had an impact since people from all over the East were beginning to move West. The rising of mining began the idea of creating a bank system which became very successful. Today California's transportation, traveling, and banking industries continue to be successful. Agriculture has dominated California's territory since 1848 and is now the largest. Although immigrants have not lived in California their whole life, they have expanded their views and skills by being surrounded with multiple cultures. Spanish speaking individuals brought the language and religion in California. After California became an official state in the 1850s was when the immigration of Hispanics began to move

As a lot of people did make money and others became very wealthy, people still faced problems. Some problems the men faced was, the prices of everyday goods went up. With so many people pouring into California all at once the standard of living increased. The standard of living also increased due to the fact that people started making more money from the gold that they sold. Think of it as if the government today would raise the minimum wage. Once minimum wage is increased, individuals make more money, which causes the price of everyday goods to increase as well. The same situation happened in California during the Gold Rush. To get an idea of how expensive commodities were, it is said that one single egg was equivalent to twenty-five dollars in today’s money. Then coffee could sell for more than one hundred dollars per pound, and miner could pay around two thousand five hundred dollars for a new pair of boots. With these outrageous prices, some people barely had money to afford their daily necessities.

The California Gold Rush began in 1848, bringing thousands of gold seekers to California in the largest migration the United States had seen. One of the more devastating consequences of this was the environmental damage done, hydraulic mining washed away hills, and mercury was used to separate gold out of silt and then it was washed down the rivers ruining land and water alike. Some described the land as looking like it had been dug up by giant moles, all this sufficiently damaged the soil that laws had to be passed to try and save land for agriculture. Also, the Indian populations were (once again) reduced due to diseases and the general abuse that was showed toward them.

And by August of 1848, the numbers of miners in the area reached 4,000. As news spread of the fortunes being made in California, people from all over the world came flooding in. The first came were from lands that were accessible by boat, such as Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), Mexico, Chile, Peru, and even China. When reports did reach the east coast, people were more skeptical. Though the Gold fever soon caught them, President at the time James K. Polk, announced the positive results of a report of the finding of gold in California and actually included it in his inaugural address.

Marshall at Sutter's Mill in 1848. The discovery of gold was one of the most remarkable events in the history of the American West because it stimulated worldwide migration to the area. The Gold Rush began as soon as the news about the discovery of gold spread throughout the country. The rush exploded within just a few years and continued to attract numerous people for the following decades. The rushes occurred in many places: In the 1850s, it came to Virginia City, Nevada, and Cherry Creek Colorado. In the 1860s it came to Montana and Wyoming. And, in the 1870s, it came to the Black Hill of South Dakota (Hine & Faracher 197). Randall E. Rohe indicated that the major gold rush in the American West attracted from 10,000 to 100,000 people per year (Dirlik 3). The census in 1848 shows 26,000 people lived in California, but in 1860, the total rose to 380,000 (Nugent 63).

On January 24, 1848 John W. Marshall discovered gold in California, which set its foundation for California’s future success. The Gold Rush gave California’s popular motto of, “Eureka” meaning “I’ve found it.” Also, the Gold Rush drew attention to California drawing cultures from around the world to seek better opportunities and make a greater extent of money than they would ever come across. This created California’s population to experience an influx during the 1840’s. Although it increased population in California, there were difficulties and problems with encounters between the Chinese immigrants, the rich, and miners that resulted in social conflict.

First “ Getting to the mining areas was difficult; there was no housing, disease was rampant, and food and gear prices were astronomically high.” (Gillis 11). With high priced gear, food and rampant diseases spreading many miners weren’t successful. Many miners encountered hard times when arriving in California, some unlucky miners worked for other men’s operations. A main problem for many miners was they couldn’t afford to return home. When most miners were unsuccessful they worked for different operations to try and find gold because many couldn’t afford to return home. Lastly While suffering from loneliness there was violence, lawlessness, and meanness during the time when men arrived in California to mine whippings and hangings were also common in the law and order of the gold rush. With violence incorporated with the sleepless nights and lack of resources and supplies it was hard for many miners to make it considering they couldn’t afford to make it home. With a difficult start to things times were extremely tough when miners arrived in California.

People from Mexico, Chile, China, and many other areas came to find gold. The population increase included many workers from China, who came to work in gold mines and later would help link the west coast and east coast with the building of the Transcontinental Railroad (“California Gold Rush”). California's overall population growth was so huge that the California became incorporated into the Union as the 31st state in 1850. This was two years after the United States has acquired California from Mexico under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War (“San Francisco Gold Rush,”

Question: Why was the Gold Rush in California so important for people to support their economy? And how did the people deal with the over population?