The California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush
5/1/13
The California Gold Rush
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 eventually became an advanced technologic, and agrarian state, which would help pave the roads to urban development and a very capitalistic economy. The California Gold Rush jump-started the development of California as a state, and ignited the belief of the American Dream once again. In a year’s time of the discovery of gold in the American River, the provincial Gold Rush of 1848 transformed into the global Gold Rush of 1849 making national headlines across the world. Historian Hubert Howe Bancroft best described the Gold Rush as; “a rapid, monstrous maturity” which propelled the population so progressively that on September 9th, 1850 California became the thirty-first state admitted into the Union2. By the year 1851, over 255,000 people had immigrated to the Golden State spurred on by the hopes of finding gold and achieving the American Dream3. From these hundreds of thousands of aliens that flocked to California during the Gold Rush most were young men eager to risk their lives venturing to the Mother Lode in hopes of becoming miners and starting a new life. These men, called the “49ers”, would play a vital role in the transformation of the state, as they would soon become the pillar for the powerful mining economy in
5/1/13
The California Gold Rush
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 eventually became an advanced technologic, and agrarian state, which would help pave the roads to urban development and a very capitalistic economy. The California Gold Rush jump-started the development of California as a state, and ignited the belief of the American Dream once again. In a year’s time of the discovery of gold in the American River, the provincial Gold Rush of 1848 transformed into the global Gold Rush of 1849 making national headlines across the world. Historian Hubert Howe Bancroft best described the Gold Rush as; “a rapid, monstrous maturity” which propelled the population so progressively that on September 9th, 1850 California became the thirty-first state admitted into the Union2. By the year 1851, over 255,000 people had immigrated to the Golden State spurred on by the hopes of finding gold and achieving the American Dream3. From these hundreds of thousands of aliens that flocked to California during the Gold Rush most were young men eager to risk their lives venturing to the Mother Lode in hopes of becoming miners and starting a new life. These men, called the “49ers”, would play a vital role in the transformation of the state, as they would soon become the pillar for the powerful mining economy in
Bibliography: Gibbs, William. "California Gold Rush (1848–1858)." Open Collections Program: Immigration to the US, California Gold Rush, 1848-1858. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2013. Ketchum, Liza. The Gold Rush. Boston: Little, Brown, 1996. Print. Lloyd, J. D. The Gold Rush. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2002. Print. Martinez, Lionel. "The Gold Rushes." The Gold Rushes. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2013. Starr, Kevin. California: A History. New York: Modern Library, 2005. Print.