Gold was discovered in California on a mill belonging to John Sutter's near California on January 24, 1848. A carpenter, James Marshall, had been building a sawmill when he found pieces of gold in the American River. When word got out about the gold in California people from all over left in hopes of striking it rich.
Forty-niners
Two-thirds of the forty-niners, or gold seekers, were American. They had to travel over the many miles, usually on Conestoga wagon, to reach California. The prospect of gold even brought miners from Mexico, Europe, Australia, South America, and China. The first challenge that miners faced was traveling into California. Those coming from China had to make a difficult crossing across the Pacific Ocean. Miners from the east usually traveled into Panama, crossed the jungles to the western side, and took another boat to California. All the others made the trip over land. Most of the gold miners were men; there was one woman to every twelve men. Glorified accounts of the gold mines drew in many more people to California.
Life as a miner
Mining was difficult, treacherous work. Miners faced danger, home sickness, loneliness, bad food, isolation, and sometimes death. Some of the forty-niners were not prepared for the difficulty of life in California. Mining for gold could require the miner to stand in a freezing river or dig into the ground. Slowly the gold supply began diminishing leaving more people in defeat without fortunes. Lawlessness and violence ran rampantly in California as there was no government agency enforcing the law and the area was devoid of calming factors like women and children. Only 5% of the population was a woman or a child.
effects of the gold rush
Merchants took advantage of the gold rush and drove up the prices necessities to make more money. A dozen of eggs was being sold for $6. Immigration from Asia begins as 24,000 Chinese people traveled into California to mine for gold. Levi Strauss created blue jeans as a result of the gold rush. Two years after the gold rush started California became a state, even when the gold rush ended, California continued to prosper. The California Gold Rush ended in 1852.
How has the california gold rush transformed the nation?
The California Gold Rush developed towns and cities in California. Two years after the gold rush began, California became a state. California might not have been developed as quickly if it had not been for the California Gold Rush.
For more information on the California Gold Rush visit:
https://www.museumca.org/goldrush/fever12.html
https://www.museumca.org/goldrush/fever12.html