Throughout history, humans have been in search of ways to get rich quick. All around the world, people have been looking for and coming up with ways to make money quickly and easily. In the 1800’s that way was panning for gold. Nowadays, the lottery, and the stock market prove as a way to get rich quick, if the odds are in your favor! In California during what’s known as the California Gold Rush, men from all around the world traveled there in search of gold. Unfortunately, almost all of the men who went panning for gold returned home poor, only a few actually struck it rich. On January 24, 1848, James Marshall struck gold on Sutter’s Mill. “I have found it!”(qtd in Shoup 21) Marshall famously exclaimed. This quote became famous because …show more content…
This first article was published in March, but it sparked little reaction. In May, he gathered more evidence and published another article telling of the finds of gold. This article attracted lots of people’s attention. By mid May, Gold Fever hit San Francisco and Sam Brannan’s mining business made $36,000 from incoming miners. At this time, people were starting to live better lives and get more comfortable. But they still had work extremely hard for daily things. The gold rush, and the findings of gold was a perfect way to live extravagant and comfortable lives. The Californian newspaper, the May 29, 1848 edition says: “The whole country, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and from seashore to the base of the sierra Nevada is resounds with this sordid cry, ‘gold, gold, gold!’ While the field is left half planted, the house half built, and everything neglected but the manufacture of shovels and pickaxes.”(qtd in Gildenstein and O’Donnell 16). This quote from the newspaper showed people really believed that they could get rich quick with this search of gold. The problem is, almost all of them did not get …show more content…
One of these men was Levi Strauss. You may recognize the name Levi, because he founded the company Levi Strauss & Co. Strauss opened his business Levi Strauss & Co. and imported all sorts of materials from bedding, to purses. He Also sold lots of clothing and products that use fabrics. He was an immigrant from Bavaria if he wanted to find a way to get rich and make it in the New World. Little did he know, it would not be by panning for gold. One of his customers, Jacob W. Davis was one of the inventors of riveted denim pants, which we now know as jeans. Davis and Strauss went to business together and patented the new style of pants with rivets in 1873. Rivets are little pieces of metal, that almost look like buttons on various parts of your jeans . The reason they are used is to prevent ripping because of a hard days work. The rivets hold together the fabric in places the jeans would normally rip because of wear and tear. Almost all jeans worn nowadays have these rivets, if they didn’t, the pants would rip very
John Augustus Sutter was born in Baden, Switzerland on the 15th of February in 1803. Sutter is the reason for the California Gold Rush that began in 1848. Sutter had a fort called “New Helvetia” beginning in 1842 that ended quickly in 1844. A man named James Wilson Marshall was planning to build John Sutter a water-powered sawmill, when he came across flakes of gold in the American River near Coloma, California in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This Discovery happened on January 24th in 1848 causing the town to have no till afterwards. Once the discovery got out it was soon the center for merchants and miners. In John Sutter’s earlier years, he claimed to have had a military background being a captain in the Royal Swiss Guard to the French King.
Crooks, cristine. "Traveling to the gold fields." library.alaska.gov. Alaska department of education and Early development. Web. 2 Mar 2014. .
In January of 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill, which is now in present-day California. From 1848-1849, 300,000 people rushed to California in search of gold. These gold-seekers, nicknamed “Forty-Niners”, came from all over the world. Most of the Forty-Niners came from the rest of America, but some even came from Europe, Australia, Latin America, and Asia. Because of the huge gold rush, roads, churches, schools, canals, cities, and towns were established in the California area. This new economic explosion influenced California to become a state in the Union.
Vigilantism is the black eye on the history of the American frontier. During the 19th century due to a lack of trust, competence, or unreliable law enforcement, the settlers on the frontiers took it upon themselves to provide security and safety for their newly progressing cities. Life in the developing American west was difficult and created many problems for everyone involved. Texas’ history is riddled with skirmishes, wars, and feuds that called upon the local civilians to turn to vigilantism. So to, Arizona and New Mexico, while struggling to gain their statehood, saw instances of civilian uprisings to quell local violence. Of course, however, neither Texas nor the American Southwest saw the hotbed of violence and destruction that was seen in San Francisco following the introduction of the Gold Rush. The descriptions that were used to describe the excitement that the discovery of gold created could also be just as easily applied to the ways it affected the peoples mentality. “In 1848 and 1849 it was usually known as the ‘Gold Fever,’ the ‘California Fever,’ the ‘Yellow Fever,’ the ‘California Mania,’ and the ‘Gold Mania.” People from all over the globe were abandoning their responsibilities and duties for the chance of striking it rich and making a big splash. This dramatic influx of people, cultures, and beliefs into one location created the right mix of hope, frustration, anger, and pride that would lead to chaos and even though “San Francisco had the most efficient, most professional police department in the United States [during the 19th century]” it could not quell the need for vigilantes to rise up and provide order amongst lawlessness.
Many people spend their whole lives trying to make money and become rich. One imagines a lifestyle where they do not have to work to provide for their families and they can enjoy the finer things in life. Some may go to great lengths to find this source of richness, even if this involves packing up and moving far away. Many people found a way to make this dream of being rich a reality on January 24, 1848. While constructing a sawmill for John Sutter, James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River. Many people flocked to California in search of the golden treasure and to follow their dream. This was the start of the California Gold Rush. The California Gold Rush was an important part of the history of the United States; it helped to settle the western United States, increased the economy of California, and negatively impacted the Native Americans living in the west.
What do you think of when you hear the term “Gold Rush”? The 1849 gold rush in California?
In the textbook reading, “The Gold Rush and Economic Development,” reads about the discovery of gold in early 1848 that lead to the Gold Rush; one of the most significant events to shape American political, social, and cultural history during the 19th century. As the news of the discovery of gold spread in the San Francisco mines, thousands of people migrated by sea or by land to the state and the surrounding areas. By the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory increase with the arrival of Anglo- American and people from all over the word, becoming a multicultural state.
How would feel to be a multimillionaire in just a couple years, but you have to get the Klondike in Alaska. Many people took this challenge either making their fortune or coming up more broke than they already were. The Klondike Gold Rush played a major role in shaping peoples lives and a time in American history. My paper consists of 3 main topics: first, what people had to go through to get there; second, the harsh conditions they had to endure when they got there; and lastly, the striking at rich part or if at all they did get rich.
There have been many discoveries that have shaped our nation as a whole. Discoveries have allowed our country to thrive and become one of the most powerful nations in the world. When we look back at our nation's rich history, it is clear to see that there was one discovery in particular that had a vast impact on the United States; the discovery was gold in California. It was in this vastly unoccupied territory that the American dream was forever changed and California emerged as a powerful state busting at the seams. The California Gold Rush shaped California into the state that it is today. California is defined by its promise of entrepreneurial success and its acceptance and encouragement of obtaining the American Dream.
It was the determination of so many to get to California just to have an opportunity of obtaining a better life. The dream to acquire wealth in a matter of months became a reality for some, and a dream for others. The Gold Rush had a major impact on California economically, demographically, and socially, ultimately affecting the whole world. Thousands of immigrants came to America because of gold, boosting the country’s economy. The Gold Rush did wonders to the US economy, people went out and spent more money once the “struck it rich” making merchants richer who would buy from others to be able to supply the need. Even though only a small amount of people got rich from the gold the wealth spread a crossed the country and helped the US economy be what it is today. It smoothed the way for California to be the most thriving and diverse state in the union. California has the highest population in the United States. San Francisco is what it is today because it was the main port for people coming from other countries. If the Gold Rush never happened this might not be the case. Without the gold rush history as we know it today, would have been
During the late 1850’s to the early 1860’s, multiple gold rushes occurred. The Oregon Gold rush happened in the 1850’s. Then the Pikes Peak Gold Rush happened in the 1850’s. People went to
Rohrbough, Malcolm J. Days Of Gold: The California Gold Rush And The American Nation. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997. eBook (EBSCOhost). Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
The Gold Rush was one of the most influential times in California History. During the four years from 1848-1852, 400,000 new people flooded into the state. People from many countries and social classes moved to California, and many of them settled in San Francisco. All this diversity in one place created a very interesting dynamic. California during the Gold Rush, was a place of colliding ideals. The 49ers came from a very structured kind of life to a place where one was free to make up her own rules.
The California gold rush began on January 24, 1848, in the Sacramento Valley. The first sight of gold nuggets found during the Gold Rush was located in the American River, by James W. Marshall. After the news of the gold became known the tidings spread quickly. Information about Jame's discovery caused thousands of immigrants to migrate, changing the nation forever. Citizens living in California were especially provoked with this, due to their homes being intruded on. Before the gold was first found in 1848 the estimated population was less than 1,000 people. Within one year the nations' population had jumped tremendously to approximately 100,000 people. California officially became recognized as a state in 1850, and after two more years had passed almost 250,000 immigrants, businessmen, families, and miners, had traveled to California in hopes of discovering gold. By 1850 more than 300,000 gold questers assailed California.
In the world of fashion, there is denim. It is one of the world’s oldest fabrics, and has been modified and remodelled to go with the latest fashion trends. The first ones who wore this fabric are workers in the California Gold Rush era, designed by Jacob Davis because of its sturdy material that withstood the harsh working conditions. Not just them, even sailors from Italy use this material too as their sailing uniform. Then, it started appearing as an actor’s apparel, and that’s when denim started to become one of a fashion item. People started wearing jeans as part of their daily apparel and even adding their own ideas, such as studs and colouring it with different shades of denim. It doesn’t only stop around that era, but today, they are seen everywhere and has become a major clothing piece for almost all of the age groups. As a reference, we can see young children already wears jeans as part of their clothing, the teenagers added jeans to their wardrobe, and even for the seniors, they consider jeans as a simple and comfortable clothing pieces.