The California Gold Rush
Above is a song from "Paint Your Wagon" that demonstrates just how excited the 'forty-niners' were to get to California and about the gold nuggets there.
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LEQ: How did the California Gold Rush transform the nation?
Shortly after the Mexican Cession of states such as: present-day California, Nevada, Utah, parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and Texas, gold was found in part of the new territory, in California. This discovery in 1848 in Sacramento Valley, California was groundbreaking and made the cession worth it. Soon after news of this discovery spread around, a "rush" happened of people called the 'forty-niners' (after the year 1849, which they came at) to what was now known as present-day California. They did anything to get there, mortgaging their property, and even spent their life savings to start their journey in California. They all came for the similar reason of money, finding gold and getting wealthy, though very few actually found any gold nuggets. During the rush, a sum of $2 billion dollars worth of gold was extracted from the area. Many people were set up at camps while mining for gold during the Gold Rush and people worked hard every day to find the gold. The work required was difficult and dangerous labor, so getting rich out there wasn't just a matter of luck, but one of skill and hard work. The California Gold Rush transformed the nation because after the year 1850, the gold in California disappeared (as most of it had been taken out), even when the miners came to the scene. It also brought up new ways of mining, but destroyed most of the land where the mining took place. It effected California greatly, as the environment was being destroyed, even while making a new and prosperous industry. It also transformed the nation's idea of success with the labor. **See sources on Citations page.** |