“The California Gold Rush of 1849-1855 radically transformed California, the United States and the World” (Historical Impact of the California Gold Rush). The California Gold Rush all started when James Marshall found gold in the American River at Sutter's Mill in California while constructing a sawmill for John Sutter. John Sutter and James Marshall tried to keep the discovery a secret, but word got out and was spread throughout the nation. During 1849, people from all over the country made the trip to California to find gold. Lots of people were mining for gold in California and used various mining techniques. The Gold Rush had many lasting impacts on California. The gold rush had many long-lasting effects on California’s economy, environment, …show more content…
The first effect the Gold Rush had on California’s economy is it helped agriculture develop and advance. “The rapid development of agriculture—thanks to heightened demand and the availability of more sophisticated tools—was another major outcome of the Gold Rush” (Historical Impact of the California Gold Rush). Agriculture became more advanced after the Gold Rush. Better tools and things used for agriculture were developed. Many people in California planted and harvested plants. The second effect the gold rush had on California’s economy is it helped create and develop wholesale and retail. “Wholesale and retail developed at this time and were instrumental in helping meet the growing demands of consumers” (Historical Impact of the California Gold Rush). Retail and wholesale were created and developed due to the growing amount of people in California. Products were being made and sold to customers. More jobs were needed for people making these products to sell. These are two examples of how the Gold Rush affected California’s economy. The next paragraph will talk about how the Gold Rush affected California’s
On January 24, 1848, Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill In Coloma California. This discovery, immediately spread around the globe. People from all different parts of the world came to California. People called it the place for a new beginning. California quickly became the most popular state in the United States. Even immigrants from Asia and Europe were coming to California just to get their hands on this precious gold. This also greatly affected the United States as we know it today.
John Augustus Sutter was born in Baden, Switzerland on the 15th of February in 1803. Sutter is the reason for the California Gold Rush that began in 1848. Sutter had a fort called “New Helvetia” beginning in 1842 that ended quickly in 1844. A man named James Wilson Marshall was planning to build John Sutter a water-powered sawmill, when he came across flakes of gold in the American River near Coloma, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This Discovery happened on January 24th in 1848 causing the town to have no till afterwards. Once the discovery got out it was soon the center for merchants and miners. In John Sutter’s earlier years, he claimed to have had a military background being a captain in the Royal Swiss Guard to the French King.
The Gilded Age was a time in American history that came to be known as a major turning point for the country, as it marked the decline of an economy based on agriculture, and brought forth the rise of an economy based on business and industry. Following the Civil War and Reconstruction, it was a great time for change, especially for the economy. The economy improved, and at the same time, it granted more opportunities for inventors and businessmen to come out and share their talent with the the world. As America began to industrialize and make new advancements in technology, it also began to encourage the growth of the middle class and promoted the importance of social mobility and competition between businesses. The Gilded Age was a time when
The California Gold Rush is one of the most interesting events in American, as well as, California History. The event gathered many in search of quick riches and opportunity globally. The opportunity of mining stretched American east coast influence to the West coast. Also bringing many from South America, Canada, and the Pacific Islands. Andrew Isenberg wrote, Mining in California: An Ecological History, which gives a detailed account of the California Gold rush and how it affected the California economy as well as California social environment during the 19th century. Isenberg conveys his argument in two parts throughout the book the economic side as well as the social side.
Between 1865 and 1900 technology, economic conditions, and government policy influenced American Agriculture greater than it ever had before. Technologically, Railroads, factories, and farm equipment changed American agriculture by allowing the production of farmed goods to be increased substantially, while economic conditions caused the prices of these goods to go down and then fluctuate. Farmers hurting from the economic disarray began influencing the laws being passed to help them in their economic troubles. Because of the influence of technology, government policy, and economic conditions between the 1865 and 1900 American agriculture was affected.
People now had the chance to look for gold out west and the Gold Rush began. This is when America really had its boom. Lastly, we now have twice as much, if not more, natural resources than we had before.
As most folks do, when I think of the term “Gold Rush”, it conjures up images of the West! Images of cowboys and crusty old miners ruthlessly and savagely staking their claims. Immigrants coming by boat, folks on foot, horseback, and covered wagon form all over the US to rape and pillage the land that was newly acquired from Mexico through the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo… California. But let me tell you about a gold rush of another kind, in another place, even more significant. It was the actual first documented discovery of gold in the United States! Fifty years earlier…in North Carolina!
This mass rush of people all started in the summer of 1897; George Carmack was back from the Klondike with the gold he discovered in the summer of 1896 (SV; SV) (“The Klondike Gold Rush”). There was another ship, named Excelsior, which docked in San Francisco it also brought another miner and their riches from the Klondike (Stefoff). After the ships docked in Seattle and San Francisco, the word was out. “Even in those pre-Twitter days, word spreads fast.” (Martel). Thanks to the telegraph and many newspapers the gold rush drew many people looking for instant wealth (Stefoff). Once the people heard these telegraphs or saw the newspapers the prospectors were off to the Klondike (Glasner). The newspapers wrote an article on the boats coming to town saying “ A Ton of Gold from the Fabulous Klondike” Actually it was closer to two tons (Wharton).
California, the place to turn cant’s into cans and dreams into plans. The same situation and scenarios apply to today and even over one hundred and sixty five years ago. Then and now are not so different, people are thriving or failing from the land of plenty, supplying themselves with knowledge, wealth, or skill to either spread their wings and take flight or crash and burn. Each state in the United States of America has a correlating nickname to either why it’s famous or an explanation of its history. California’s state name is The Golden State, and going all the way back to 1849 is why this was such an influential time for California and all of America. This is the period of the Gold Rush. Reasons why this event was so impeccable, to the development of California, are the years leading up to the discovery, the first findings, the journey, and so much more.
This decade, surrounded by great periods in US history such as the Gold Rush and the Civil War, was in direct correlation with everything around it, being greatly influenced by the Gold Rush and directly influencing the Civil War as well as making ripples throughout history. Understanding influential periods before the crisis of the crisis of the 1850’s, the substance of the discussion, and the ominous effects of the 1850’s crisis, it is difficult to deny the importance of that decade in American
The Gold Rush was one of the most influential times in California History. During the four years from 1848-1852, 400,000 new people flooded into the state. People from many countries and social classes moved to California, and many of them settled in San Francisco. All this diversity in one place created a very interesting dynamic. California during the Gold Rush, was a place of colliding ideals. The 49ers came from a very structured kind of life to a place where one was free to make up her own rules.
...oods in the market place. The market increased vastly, becoming more efficient with cheaper transportation and economic specialization. Industrialization impacted the meaning of work and changed the ways of time management. Urbanization mainly evolved in the northeastern states, which help the states to become more into urban cities showing and improving on communication and industrialization. Though this was great for the Americans it did affect the Native Americans and African slaves in a negative light. Even though it had ups and downs from different point of views the market revolution changed and improved how our economy is today.
...iling industry and the expansion of the west. The railroads helped these industries expand their territories which not only brought wealth to the large companies but, it also helped create jobs for many people. The railroad industry became an important gateway for immigrants because it introduced them to different opportunities of work and living. The railroad industry also helped to pour money into America’s economy. The railroad industry helped raise economic standards and change the way from an economy based on agriculture to an agriculture base on machinery. The railroads united America as a whole. It was the driving force of the industrial revolution that brought America together as a unity. The industrial revolution wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for the railroad industry that changed not only the people but, the country as a whole for the next fifty years.
...he Gold Rush A Primary Source History of the search for gold in California. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 2001. Print.
Isenberg’s Mining California sheds light on life for a miner during the Gold Rush. He also goes over the development of mining and the other things the miners did such as logging and ranching. The author gives us a different perspective than what were accustomed to. While the impact of gold mining was positive, Isenberg explains that we are still affect by the decisions of the forbears’ (Isenberg). According to Isenberg, we are still feeling the affects on the environment that was left form the gold rush in the late 1800s. New technology to excavate the gold and to log the trees like redwood and sequoia all led to factors that changed industrialization and politics. The ways of mining that Isenberg cover are hydraulic mining and logging wood. But, did hydraulic mining really do that much damage?