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The California Gold Rush began when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. People in Hawaii, Oregon, and Latin America were the first to hear of the finding of gold, and by late 1848 they were swarming to California. Around 300,000 people came for the chance to find gold, about 10,000 of these were immigrants from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. These people seeking gold were dubbed the “forty niners” because of the time, 1849. Most of the forty niners faced many hardships on their journeys, but once they arrived there were gold nuggets scatter on the ground. However, this only lasted a short amount of time, later gold was gathered from riverbeds, and streams. Panning was a common and simple method used to gather the gold, but later more advanced methods were used.
This economic boom greatly effected many parts of the country. The population in San Francisco grew from 200 in 1846, to 36,000 in 1852. Cultural and economic growth boomed in throughout California, and by 1849 California had a state constitution written. A governor appointed and a legislature was formed, and California became an official state in 1850. During the beginning of the gold rush, no property laws had been established. A system of staking claims was developed by the forty niners, but the goldfields were already occupied by Native Americans. The Native American’s land was taken by force, and nearly 100,000 died, 4,500 murdered, in the years between 1847 and 1868.
The California Gold Rush was a great from an economic standpoint, but it had its issues. Most of the people left California with little or nothing more than what they arrived with, while a few lucky people gained great wealth. Native Americans inhabited the goldfields and were forcible removed, and many died in the process. The Gold Rush even negatively effected the rivers and bodies of water near the mining sights.
Citation/s
"California Gold Rush." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. “The American Pageant: A History of the Republic.” 2002 ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 309-15. Print.
The California Gold Rush was a great from an economic standpoint, but it had its issues. Most of the people left California with little or nothing more than what they arrived with, while a few lucky people gained great wealth. Native Americans inhabited the goldfields and were forcible removed, and many died in the process. The Gold Rush even negatively effected the rivers and bodies of water near the mining sights.
Citation/s
"California Gold Rush." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2014. Kennedy, David M., Lizabeth Cohen, and Thomas Andrew Bailey. “The American Pageant: A History of the Republic.” 2002 ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. 309-15. Print.