The California Gold Rush.docVIP

The California Gold Rush Gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold in the 19th century, it has took place in several countries such as the US, Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Africa and so on. It promoted the development of capitalist economy greatly. The one in California, may be the most notable one. Typically, gold rushes are started by a discovery of placer gold made by an individual, as it was in the California gold rush. It began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutters Mill, in Coloma, California.News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. Of the 300,000, approximately 150,000 arrived by sea while the remaining 150,000 arrived by land. It is undoubtedly that California stimulated worldwide interest in prospecting for gold. These early gold-seekers, called forty-niners, traveled to California by sailing boat and in covered wagons across the continent, often facing substantial hardships on the trip. While most of the newly-arrived were Americans, the Gold Rush attracted tens of thousands from Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. At first, the prospectors retrieved the gold from streams and riverbeds using simple techniques, such as panning. More sophisticated methods of gold recovery developed which were later adopted around the world. Then gold, worth billions of todays dollars, was recovered, which led to great wealth for a few. However, many returned home with little more than they started with. The California gold rush had far-reaching influence in every aspects of the society at that time. San Francisco grew from a small settlement to a boomtown, and roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. A system of laws and a government were created, leading to the admission of