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The Economic Impact Of The California Gold Rush In California

1063 Words5 Pages

Iris Phillips
Mrs. Doerr
ELA
10 February 2023
California Gold Rush Even after the Gold Rush, the effect it had influences California even today. The state is known for how many economic opportunities are present, which all stemmed from the gold rush. For many years, people have tried to reach the “Californian Dream.” This is how California got its name “Golden State.” The California Gold Rush was something that changed American history and California forever.
The gold rush started on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill while working for Sutter. They tried to keep it a secret, but they failed in doing so (History.com Editors 2010 California Gold Rush, History.com. A&E Television Networks). In 1848, Sutter …show more content…

The early arrivers or “forty-eighters” received much profit considering how they got ahold of the gold before others had taken it. “Only a small number (probably fewer than 500) traveled overland from the United States that year. Some of these "forty-eighters", as the earliest gold-seekers were sometimes called, were able to collect large amounts of easily accessible gold—in some cases, thousands of dollars worth each day” (California Gold Rush, Wikipedia). But 1949 is when the real gold rush started. Approximately 300,000 people from around the world went to California in hopes of finding gold. These “forty-niners” faced trouble, such as starvation, dehydration, and fights with other prospectors (California Gold Rush, …show more content…

Prospectors took their land as well as their supplies. In retaliation, they killed some of the white settlers. That started a cycle, where natives killed settlers and settlers killed natives. But due to the fact the natives were outnumbered and outgunned, they were demolished quickly. Multiple tribes were wiped out easily. The ones that did survive often died of starvation because of the lack of supplies. Between 1849 and 1870, approximately 4,500 natives were killed. Some natives were even exploited for work (California Gold Rush,

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