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
In the late 1800’s, a lot of change was being brought upon the United States, especially on the west of America. New things were established and found in west states, such as Nevada and California. Many of these new establishments helped freed slaves find living as the gold mines were a huge ideal to foreigners traveling from the south and midwest. The Gold Rush was found in Sierra Nevada during 1848, when gold was found in a mine. This completely changed the popularity and population of California. Although, for many people who wanted to travel to mine for gold during the Gold Rush, it was a tough journey as there was no true railroad nor steamboats yet to be taken to the west. With the rise of exposure for the Chinese population in San Francisco,
The western expansion of America has important roots in multiple events, and many argue that the California Gold Rush was the most important event in America’s expansion West. The Gold Rush was extremely influential to westward expansion due to the number of people it attracted to California and the impacts a newfound booming population had on Western America. When gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, the prospect of striking it rich
“At the time of the discovery, the population of California totaled around 15,000, excluding native Indians. By the end of 1849, after the international gold rush had been under way for nearly six months, the total population had passed 90,000. By 1852, it had reached well over 220,000.” Between the time periods of 1848-1852, “as many as 25,000 Mexicans migrated to the mining regions of California.” During this same span, over 2,000 African Americans had made their way into California, and by 1855 “as many as 50,000 Chinese sought wealth in California.” In addition, Chilean and French comprised two more large groups of immigrants, with estimates of 20,000 French by 1851 and somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 Chilean by 1850. Moreover, it was not only the privileged, wealthy individuals who were the ones moving in search of gold; on the contrary, it was people from all avenues and walks of life. Individuals with nothing to lose and those with everything to lose boarded wagon trains, ships, and boats and headed for San Francisco. The California Gold Rush turned hardworking, sensible individuals into crazed, strike it rich enthusiasts. “People of all classes had departed for the diggings, including school teachers, mechanics, physicians, lawyers, tailors, clergymen, laborers, merchants, teamsters, cooks, gamblers, the first and second alcaldes, the sheriff,
The California Gold Rush was a period of time when thousands of people from all over the world came to California for gold, some were lucky, most were not. California was owned by Mexico 1600-1846. Mexico soon allowed the U.S. to have California as it’s own state, and that is when they found the gold. The California Gold Rush was a difficult time with the challenges people faced traveling to California, the way the Forty-Niners lived, and the way they used the gold.
“My eye was caught with the glimpse of something shining at the bottom of the ditch” - James Marshall. The California Gold Rush officially went into full motion on January 24th of 1848. Although many events contributed to or caused the California Gold Rush, the most important events were the Westward Expansion, the discovery of gold, and immigration for work. The Westward Expansion contributed to the development of the California Gold Rush by having the Oregon Trail is one of the trails opened. By the Oregon Trail, most people were roaming along other paths such as the California Trail and others that came to be during the 1840’s. The Westward Expansion was also a way for families to move along in order to start a new phase in their lives. Another pivotal event was the discovery of gold. It led to several immigrants not only local but several from Peru, Australia, China, etc. This also created job opportunities. In addition, immigration contributed to the Gold Rush by as said before several immigrants from around the world coming. Mining also became a large job. Not only for the hunt for gold but for other natural resources such as silver, copper, and oil. These three events contributed to the mass migrations and large
In 1849, the California Gold Rush attracted the massive people immigrated to gold finding from all over the world. The gold-seekers travelled by the ship boarding in San Francisco port or by feet to leave their hometown and families from west because they believed that they could gain more money and had a better life than their original place. In the early days of California was an unknown place however after the gold-seekers arrived to California growth rapidly with crowded population. Later, the Rocky Mountains establish to be a state which called California. The gold-seekers came over to California because they wanted to achieve their goals for a better life, as they experienced by their hard working and created lots of the potential
The California Gold Rush of 1849 was a major point in history that involved the colonization of the far west, the hunt for gold, and many issues to go along with it. During a period where nothing was really advancing or happening, many people began to look for a new job or a new way to make some form of money. In times like that, there are little to no jobs available. Some people managed to fine gold in the west, and a lot of it, specifically located in California. As people began telling others about it, the information eventually spread throughout the continent. Eventually, thousands of people were migrating out west in search of gold to get rich on.
The United States of America is a country deeply rooted in history, shaped by many significant events over the past several hundred years. From the arrival of Columbus, to the Pilgrims, the Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars, and much more, these events have had a great impact on the future of America. However, one of the most often overlooked yet incredibly significant events in American history was the California Gold Rush of 1849. The discovery of gold in the western territories prompted hundreds of thousands of Americans to venture west. These mass migrations not only had many significant positive and negative impacts, but also created a prosperous future for the desolate and unforgiving western half of the country. The California
The main reason why people move to the west was because of the gold, land, and cattle rush. The gold rush was first discovered by James Marshall, near the city of Coloma. When gold was discovered more than 300,000 people rushed to California to find gold so they could become rich. Land rush was created because of the Homestead Act in 1862. It allowed people to buy acres such as 160 acres for $10. When people discovered that there were thousands of lands that were opened, it created a land rush to where people would race to claim the best spots of land for a good
"Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!” shouted Samuel Brannan, a newspaper publicist from San Francisco, following the discovery of gold in California (Rhodes 168). This event sparked a new era of immigration to California in 1848. The gold rush began on January 24, 1848 when gold was found by James Marshall, a foreman for John Sutter, at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California (Bancroft 32). Initially the news was kept a secret due to the risk of a massive wave of gold seekers interfering with Sutter’s land and agricultural plans. However, by March of 1848, Samuel Brannan’s flamboyant confirmation to the rumors created the California gold rush. Hordes of people from around the world traveled to California in search for gold and success. San Francisco’s population exponentially grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a city of about 36,000 by 1852 (Johnson 12-14). As news spread, the event became known worldwide. The gold rush in California was a vital event that became the basis for the social and economic boom that subsequently fashioned global fame, an influx of settlers and, as a result, the 31st addition to the union as “The Golden State”.
The Gold Rush impacted the nation in another important area other than the economy: the issue of slavery. The immigrants to California were of very diverse nationalities and races. There were
A number of settlement changes had occurred in California since 1796. The discovery of gold greatly accelerated these changes. Prior to the unearthing citizens from Russia, México, America and the natives themselves had already turned California into a universal frontier. It is due to this reason that immigrants from all over the world jostled up here. Many gold seekers and other investors flooded California all with the motive of benefiting from it. This in turn brought people from different races together and encouraged the spread and development of varying ethnic languages, social languages and religions to the new American state (Rawls and Bean 21). However, most of these visitors were not interested in settling down in California. The
As a result, for moving westward people ended up hearing about the gold found in California. This ended up becoming the “California Gold Rush”. People from everywhere started to overflow California in search for their own gold. Hunting the gold in nearby caves, or even waterways caused ghost towns throughout the community. A ghost town is when there use to be settlement but then everyone moves to new land once the resources are no longer available or provided. Many people became wealthy over the time of gold they’ve found, causing many people to leave or be left out of society (Homeless).
On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered in Coloma, California. The discovery drove over hundreds of thousands people of all ethnic backgrounds to America’s west coast. Prior to the Gold Rush, California was dominated by Mexican rancheros and Native Americans. President Polk had a vision for Americans to expand westward. Polk believed that America could span coast to coast and saw the Gold Rush as the perfect opportunity to achieve his goal of manifest destiny. Americans were not the only people to flee to the gold fields, Mexicans, Chinese, Irish, Germans, and many other ethnicities also migrated to California. The Gold Rush diversified the population and stimulated the economic and cultural growth