Historical Events Of 1848-1940: The First Century Of California

William Salazar

Mr. Pacheco

History 10

5-2-18

The First Century of California A lot of events have happened during 1848-1940 in California. Historical events such as the Gold Rush and the creation of the railroads, to the more controversial events such as the exploitation of workers, the many strikes that took place, and the monopolies of the railroads. But first, I will begin discussing about the Gold Rush, which began in the year 1848 and had a lasting impact in California. The Gold Rush (which lasted from 1848 to 1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.

The sudden

But along with the Progressive Movement, other important events occured before and during this time. One event in particular is the construction of the railroads which played a major role in the growing population of California. What California desperately needed at this time was a large and steady population. With the creation of the railroads, it made traveling and moving faster than ever. The railroads were both beneficial and efficient when it came to transportation. Before the Railroads, it would take the average person four to six months to travel to California from the east coast, but with the railroad it would only take a total of six days, which was a significant improvement. In 1880, the population of California was around 885,000, which is low, but then it would increase to 1.5 million by the

Due to the monopolies, many of the prices were majorly reduced and eventually led to a railroad rate war. Many Californians were upset at the time because the entrepreneurs of the railroads, known as the Big Four, were believed to have obtained mass wealth and power creating these railroads, in which many people complained that their use of a monopoly for the railroads was draining profit from nearby businesses in the state. It was also believed that the monopoly was also affecting the California Government as well. Due to all of the controversy regarding the Big Four, anger was expressed towards them in the forms of cartoons and editorials which mocked them constantly, and they were not amused. By the end, many embarrassing revelations provided powerful evidence for those who believed the railroad system and its politics were corrupt and eventually the greed of the Big Four would