Men in the California Gold Rush
By Jake W
What was the Gold Rush?
The California Gold Rush was a large migration of people towards California to find gold. It created an economic and population boom in California. The photo next to this caption is a drawing of people sifting for gold in a river.
When and Where was the Gold Rush?
The Gold Rush was centered in San Francisco, California. In 1848, the town of San Francisco only had 200 people in it but by 1854 it was a boomtown of 36,000 people. The migration started when gold was found by James W. Marshall on January 24, 1848. After he found gold, news quickly spread to neighboring states and then to the rest of America. The photo below is a picture of James W. Marshall.
Some Interesting Facts about the Gold Rush:
Business Surrounding The Gold Rush
Several businesses started because of the Gold Rush. There was an ample supply of customers due to the large amount of people in the Gold Rush. One of the most famous companies is Levi Strauss & Co. Levi Strauss started his company to make pants for the workers which led to the invention of blue jeans. The picture above this caption is Levi Strauss himself.
Effects on Modern Culture
There are several books that talk about the Gold Rush and many references to it as well. The most popular story was probably Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. This Mark Twain story reflects the history of the Gold Rush in a humorous light. The NFL team the San Francisco 49ers also refers to the Gold Rush.
Profits of the People Searching for Gold
On average, only half of the people in the Gold Rush actually made money. The merchants made far more money than the miners during the Gold Rush. The wealthiest man in California during the Gold Rush was Samuel Brannan, who bought all the mining supplies in California and sold them at a substantial profit.
Western Expansion due to Gold Rush
After California started expanding, they began to develop an infrastructure and laws in a place that was very barren beforehand. Thousands of people moved westward and stayed in California after the rush was over and it transformed slowly into the sprawling, hipster-filled, cool state we know today.
The California Gold Rush