Gold Rush And The Silver Rush

It is well known that industrialization in America started in the east. However, the gold rush was the reason why California industrialized much faster than the east. With the technological improvements, that the gold rush demands it helped California industrialize much faster. James Marshall first discovered gold on January 24 1848 on the south fork of the American river. A not so well know part of California history is that James Marshall was not the first person to discover gold in California. Francisco Lopez was the first documented gold rush in California. It is less know because right after Lopez had discovered gold the war between Mexico and US had begun. Moreover, like everyone knows Mexico lost and lost California and other territory to the US. After James Marshall had found gold and after everyone had started to hear the news, few people started rushing to the minefields. The gold rush fever had not started yet because many people were hesitant. It wasn’t until president, President Polk at that time, confirmed that there really was gold found in California after the announcement by Polk was heard. Massive amount of people from all over the world rushed to California. States were not the first to hear about the news. Actually, people in Hawaii were the first to find out. As trading ships were leaving the San Francisco port on their trips across the pacific. Was when the Hawaii found out about the news? When the states

The daily life of a miner was far from perfect. The way the papers and other means of propaganda had portrayed getting rich quick, but it was far from easy. All the equipment that was needed to start out as a miner was for the most part outrageous. The earning wages from gold was” sixteen dollars an ounce” pg.8. Even so, the work was backbreaking. There was swarms of minors trying to get rich quick. To many miners that traveled to get a piece of the precious metal they where resorted to taking land from previous land owner just to get ahead in the Gold Rush. Not to mention that the living conditions where also outrageous. The “rentals of hotels and other business structures, whether of boards or of canvas, reached even dizzier heights than did commodity prices” pg.8. This spaces where set prices at 3,000 dollars a month or 40,000 dollars for a year, there was also other prices around the area of San Francisco. And in some cases miners where resorted to living in a room filled to the brim with other miners. This lead to very poor conditions for any one to live in. But nothing was better then being rich in a few months or

do was ask the men at the mill to keep the secret for another six

Many people risked their lives in order to seek riches and gold, only to find challenges along the way.

The California Gold Rush almost did not happen. In his 1848 report to the adjutant-general at Washington, DC, Col. Richard Barnes Mason wrote a worker was checking the strong flow of water in a stream near a saw mill he was building. James Marshall noticed a few glittering particles in the mud that had accumulated. He collected and examined a few of them and, satisfied with their value, brought them to Captain John Sutter, owner of the land where the saw mill was to be built. They agreed to keep their discovery secret for a while but word soon spread and quickly hundreds and then thousands of miners flooded to the mines seeking instant wealth. Only three months after the discovery, it was estimated about four thousand workers were employed mining gold in the region (personal communication, August 17, 1848).

Not long after the gold was discovered, Sam Brannan rode from Sutter's Fort and started shouting in the middle of the street, "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" His proclamation started a stampede and fever for gold that nearly depopulated the city. People from different places came in search of gold, they left their farms, trading posts, and even deserted ships.

In 1849, an inundation of Chinese immigrants came to the United States to take part in the California gold rush. Relations between the Chinese and Americans started off neutral, but soon conflicts arose. White workers saw Chinese as a threat to their status and tried to solve this issue by passing the Chinese Exclusion Act; this severely limited the number of Chinese allowed to immigrate into the country at the time. Although this compromise satisfied the white protests, it only lead to more conflicts with how the Chinese were treated during immigration. These conflicts would not be resolved for another 61 years.

If you had the opportunity to get rich off of gold, would you? Would you be willing to leave everything you have behind to move thousands of miles across the country just for gold? In 1859, the answer for many people was yes. Word of gold found throughout Colorado spread across the country and launched the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush or also known as the Colorado Gold Rush. There are several significant events in Colorado history that have had an influential impact on the state we know today. The Colorado Gold Rush, in 1859, was the most significant event in Colorado History for several reasons: the rush attracted thousands of people to our state, initiated the mining of other resources, succored farming and ranching throughout the state, and boosted the economy of the towns here in Colorado; these benefits of the rush continue to play a role in our state still today.

Thesis: Although there were several factors and events that had led up to the California Gold Rush, the Westward Expansion, the discovery of gold, and immigration and work were the most influential.

Gold was found in the capital of California today Sacramento also called the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 to around 1857. The Mexican province governor gave John Sutter 50,000 acres of land to make a place his was going to call New Switzerland this land stretched from the Sacramento and the American Rivers (“Gold Rush”). John Sutter the owner of the new asked a man by the name of James Marshall to help him build a sawmill that would be located 50 miles east on Sutter's land. (Blashfield 1). So Marshall and his men went to work when Sutter came by to check the progress he found something sparkling in the water of one of the rivers near the sawmill and extracted a lump of gold from a nearby gorge and shouted Gold! Gold! We have found it! But Marshall didn’t really believe him until he threw down a handful of golden flakes on the table. This is how the gold rush started and had them thinking how to keep it a secret.

One of the most beneficial events in American history is the California Gold Rush. The Gold Rush started in 1848 when it was discovered that California Rivers harbored gold inside them. This attracted many Americans across the United States, thus causing a massive migration to California. People from across the nation put their lives on hold in hopes of striking gold in California. For many, the journey took months and the risk of death was steadily present. Dangers were everywhere- from Native American attacks to getting lost on the trail. It was a risk, however, that many deemed worthy. The Gold Rush is a positive turning point in our nation’s growth for many reasons. It helped our nation achieve Manifest Destiny, it allowed the population to grow in California, and it also put California on the map. Although the California Gold Rush has many positives aspects, it holds negative traits as well.

The Colorado Gold Rush is one of the Gold Rushes that does not get that many attention when it comes time to talk about our nation history. Sure they talk about the Gold Rush that happened in 1848 which was the California Gold Rush. The Colorado Gold Rush didn't happen 11 years after the gold was founded in eastern part of the Rocky Mountains in Cripple Creek. When the San Francisco Gold Rush was happening it made people wanted to come to the West for a bite of that Gold but ones people got here in Colorado people had one thing on their way which was the Rocky Mountains. There was no way around the Rocky Mountains at that time it was hard because people would have wagons with all their stuff most people would leave someone of their belongings behind so they could go through easer just reach the Gold Rush in San Francisco

In 1799, an event occurred in the southern Piedmont that made North Carolina a very desirable place to live-the discovery of gold! Long ago a stone/rock was found in Cabarrus County, North Carolina by Conrad Reed at Little Meadow Creek. The Conrad family who found this rock didn’t know what it was or who it belonged to or neither did they know what it was made out of. The family looked at the rock and found out it was a seventeen pound rock made of gold but now called a golden nugget. After all, they found more gold that came from the creek eventually this made the Conrad’s family and father wealthy and rich. Soon gold was being found in neighboring counties Montgomery, Stanly, Mecklenburg, Rowan, and Union and people was anxious to find gold

“To many Californians the mention of January 24, 1948, conveys no special meaning, nor is that date widely commemorated in the state. Yet it had a special significance in the history of California, for on that day James Marshall, a moody carpenter from Missouri, discovered the first gold nuggets that resulted in a stampede known as the California Gold Rush.” The California Gold Rush drew in thousands of white settlers, all seeking a better life and a chance

I will discuss how the Gold Rush, more than any other single event, impacted the social, economic, and political nature of the West Coast and the United States. I will break down the social, economic, and political ramifications of the Gold Rush on (a) the region, and (b) the United States as a whole.