Gold is one of the most valuable materials all around the world. This jewel has its own glittering appearance and shiny color which induce people to desire to possess it. That’s probably why Europeans in the middle age have explored new continents and invaded other civilizations to find this glittering material. Americans also had given much endeavor to mine that valuable jewel in the time of gold rush. Investigating these events, gold has immensely affected the world history; the Age of Exploration, invasions of Spaniards, and the development of California.
To begin with, Gold was the most significant motivation of ‘the age of exploration’. ‘The age of exploration’ began in the early 15th century and it lasted until the 17th century. The purpose of numerous explorations at that time was to find gold. Since the trades between the West and the East had started, various kinds of merchandise drastically flowed to Europe. Among the eastern products, what Europeans were most interested in was gold. Royal families and nobles were eager to acquire gold to show off their wealth and power. Merchants in Venetia, or other cities also wanted golden products to make big profits in their transactions. Accordingly, they planned to explore the unknown world in purpose of possessing more gold. In addition, the travelers are obliged to search gold in expeditions by the kingdoms. Since Explorers often had a lack of funding needed for their journeys, they should rely on the kingdoms which can afford the expenses. Ships, crews and sailing utilities were provided for the adventures by the nations. In exchange of these supports, kingdoms required the explorers to search the location of the valuable jewels and offer some of them. Hence, travelers were de...
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...rom http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/theconquistadors/a/cortesbio.htm
Kennedy, H. (n.d.). Byzantine-Ottoman wars: Fall of Constantinople. Retrieved from http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/battleswars14011600/p/Byzantine-Ottoman-Wars-Fall-Of-Constantinople.htm
Michael, W. (2002). Conquistadors. (p. 288). US and Territories, Canada: University of California Press.
Robert, S. (2002). The Gold Rush of California: A bibliography of periodical articles. (Master's thesis, California State University), Available from California State University, Stanislaus Library. Retrieved from http://ivy.csustan.edu/bsantos/goldrush/GoldTOC.htm
Rawls, James J. and Orsi, Richard J. (eds.) (1999). A Golden State: mining and economic development in Gold Rush California (California History Sesquicentennial Series, 2). Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 187.
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.
Wikipedia, . "California Gold Rush." Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation Inc., 26 Feb 2014. Web. 2 Mar 2014. .
The creation of societies in the West resulted in the blossoming of three new industries: mining, ranching, and farming. Mining began at large with the discovery of gold in California in 1849 and continued with other discoveries and “rushes” later on; these rus...
Rohrbough, Malcolm J. Days Of Gold: The California Gold Rush And The American Nation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. eBook (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Many people spend their whole lives trying to make money and become rich. One imagines a lifestyle where they do not have to work to provide for their families and they can enjoy the finer things in life. Some may go to great lengths to find this source of richness, even if this involves packing up and moving far away. Many people found a way to make this dream of being rich a reality on January 24, 1848. While constructing a sawmill for John Sutter, James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River. Many people flocked to California in search of the golden treasure and to follow their dream. This was the start of the California Gold Rush. The California Gold Rush was an important part of the history of the United States; it helped to settle the western United States, increased the economy of California, and negatively impacted the Native Americans living in the west.
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!
The gold rush era in the United States began in California in 1848 and ended around the year 1900. (Yukon) Although miners searched for the valuable metal into the twentieth century, the Klondike gold rush, which was around 1897 till 1900, was the last of some of the major rushes to occur. People had flocked to the upper part of the Yukon River in hopes of striking it rich. Many people had traveled from the Canadian and American regions to the center of the Klondike gold rush to fulfill their dreams of one day being rich with gold. (Place 48) The Yukon River Valley of Canada and Alaska was once peaceful and isolated, wild animals and a few white trappers and people. The miners had wandered north after the California fields gave out and fulfilled their dreams on a few dollars in gold they managed to eke out of their mines. This loss of gold in California had made the peaceful Alaska into a rampage of greed and envy that would never make Alaska the same.
There have been many discoveries that have shaped our nation as a whole. Discoveries have allowed our country to thrive and become one of the most powerful nations in the world. When we look back at our nation's rich history, it is clear to see that there was one discovery in particular that had a vast impact on the United States; the discovery was gold in California. It was in this vastly unoccupied territory that the American dream was forever changed and California emerged as a powerful state busting at the seams. The California Gold Rush shaped California into the state that it is today. California is defined by its promise of entrepreneurial success and its acceptance and encouragement of obtaining the American Dream.
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.
The California Gold Rush was discovered accidently. Most of the world’s gold is deep underground and embedded in hard rock. Unlike anywhere else in the world at that time the gold in California was easy to dig up, free for the taking and required little tools to acquire any gold. All that was requires was a pick or shovel and a pan to shift out the gold from the rock, sand and debris. The Gold Rush affected not only California but the outcome of the nation. It created the expansion of our nation into Western America and California. The rush brought hundreds of thousand Americans and foreigners to the Sierra Nevada’s with the hopes of sticking it rich. This impacted the social life and the economy while effected the rest of the country. The
...12 million ounces of gold was mined during the gold rush (would be worth around $20 billion using todays prices). The autarkic, audacious spirit that is such a crucial part of California’s economy today is a lasting reflection of the great gold rush in 1849. Disputably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the the mid-1800s.
These two passages “There’s Still Gold in These Hills” and “Letter From a Gold Miner” help the reader understand the history and process of gold mining in the US. Both passages give detailed information, specific instructions, and an interesting background about gold mining. These passages use different strategies to help the reader perceive the history and process. These strategies may include using specific dates of when the gold rush took place, information to help the reader picture the setting of where to find gold, and also teaches the process step by step.
During the Gold Rush of 1848-1849, California began to experience a large wave of Chinese immigration to the United States. Stories of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill drew thousands of Chinese immigrants into North America from various parts of Asia. These immigrants, who were primarily poor peasants, flooded the “Golden Hills” we know as California in pursuit of better economic opportunity. To fill in the needs of the increasingly widespread mining communities in the West, many Chinese immigrants ultimately became merchants, railroad workers, agricultural laborers, mining laborers, and factory workers. Throughout the Gold Rush, members of the Chinese labor force played significant roles in both the social and economic development of the American West, particularly with regards to the construction of the transcontinental railroad.
“In the years which followed the gold discoveries, society was not stratified. Moral and religious principles were often disregarded, and all kinds of irregular situations could be found.”3
Throughout history, humans have been in search of ways to get rich quick. All around the world, people have been looking for and coming up with ways to make money quickly and easily. In the 1800’s that way was panning for gold. Nowadays, the lottery, and the stock market prove as a way to get rich quick, if the odds are in your favor! In California during what’s known as the California Gold Rush, men from all around the world traveled there in search of gold. Unfortunately, almost all of the men who went panning for gold returned home poor, only a few actually struck it rich.