The Role Of Western Migration In The Nineteenth Century

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

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 Gold Rush during the mid 1800s had a major impact on the movement westward. People traveled thousands of miles across all kinds of rugged terrain in pursuit of wealth and riches. The large amount of settlers in California during this time created a state full of diversity which remains the same to this day. These enormous amounts of people, however, made it difficult for the economy to support the ones who weren’t so lucky. On top of this, there was also a huge destruction of the Native population, and even discrimination against other newcomers. The Gold Rush also created significant environmental hazards throughout the area that are still a problem today. All these things are solid indicators that the Gold Rush actually had a negative impact on California.

Before the Gold Rush of 1849, California was a sparsely populated, unimportant territory of the United States mostly inhabited by the people of Mexico. However, that all changed when on January 24, 1848; carpenter and small time sawmill operator James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget in the American River that would forever change the history of California and America1. Not only did the Gold Rush lead to California’s admittance into the Union in 1850, it also rekindled the idea of the American Dream. Hundred’s of thousands of people poured into the state by the lure of quick and infinite riches. As a result of the Gold Rush, California

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.

“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,

“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

Why was the California Gold Rush important? First some background information about this past event was that the California gold rush had began on the 24th of January in 1848, when a man named James W. Marshall had discovered a gold nugget in the American River. This was during the construction of a sawmill for John Sutter, who was a Sacramento agriculturalist. The news of James Marshall discovering this gold nugget had brought thousands of immigrants to California and even brought people from elsewhere in the United States and even from other countries. “When the gold rush began, California had a population of fourteen thousand; by the end of 1849, there were an estimated one hundred thousand in the former Mexican province.”

The California Gold Rush After the United States had become an independent nation, mostly everybody lived on the east coast. There was little thought of traveling west. As the 1800s started to come along, the thought of traveling west occurred to the colonists. The Louisiana Purchase expanded the country, and new and improved forms of transportation helped make the transportation of goods and people easier to the west coast.

In history whenever there is an event that can benefit or change the course of someone's life for the better, people try to come and join the cause. This is what happened in the California and Colorado Gold Rush. The Colorado and California Gold Rush during the 1800s brought thousands of people to the west in search of gold. Although many people tried to strike it rich, the Native Americans suffered disruption to their lands. The gold rush helped keep the fire sparked between the Native Americans and the colonizers. While the gold rush did help bring the east and west together and boost the economy.

The Gold Rush had an enormous impact on immigration globally, as it brought people from all over the people. People from countries such as China, Mexico, France and other parts of Europe came to California in hopes of finding gold and living a happy life. Not only did the presence of immigrants help the cities grow physically, the immigrants who came from across the globe helped the cities grow culturally and economically. These immigrants brought with them their own language, culture, and beliefs. They helped make California very rich and diverse in culture.

The California Gold Rush was a spectacular event in California’s history. It occurred from 1848-1855. Many, many people migrated to California to find the gold that was said to be there. This changed California from a dreary and unpopulated place to a thriving and happy place to be. Not everyone struck it rich, though, not even the person who discovered it, James W. Marshall.

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

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