Peter Dirubbo
5/1/14
How did the gold rush impact the expanding American Frontier?
The gold rush is considered one of the most compelling event in westward expansion. The gold rush brought hundreds of thousands of settlers to the west coast (California and Oregon), as well as made an impact on the economy and on technology. People came from all over the Americas to get to California. The gold rush was started when James Marshall found gold while working at Sutter’s mill. Once people heard the news, there was no stopping them. A lot of people packed their bags and moved west to California in hope of making money from finding gold.
In 1848, California has a mere 14,000 residents and by 1849 there were more than 100,000 residents, and three years later the population doubled to 200,000 residents. There were not many women and children that moved west, only five percent of the immigrants. Along with the men, women and children a lot of free and enslaved African- Americans moved out west. Some people took an 18,000 mile trip by taking a boat trip around South America, and then up to the coast of California. While some people did this, many people traveled across the United States to get there.
The westward expansion is said to be the largest movement/ migration of people in U.S. history, with over 80,000 people traveling to the west coast. The movement of people left a lot of people on the west coast, even after most people moved on after not striking gold in California. The Gold rush helped get California populated and integrated in the United States, because it was the newest state (31st), after recently signing the compromise of 1850 which gave California the rights to be a free state, and a recognized union state.
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...ifferent way to meet all the miner’s needs, one example of the pan in its modified state is it with very small holes in it so water could drain out and the miners could sift through the dirt more quickly to find gold. The sluice was invented so miners could shovel dirt into the half-pipe type channel so the people further down the line could sift through the water and the dirt so they could quickly find gold.
Finally, hydraulic mining was used later during the gold rush. When using the method of hydraulic mining one sprays water against mountains, or an area that is suspected of containing gold, and weather rocks away and show any gold that was there.
The advance of technology during the gold rush had a very positive effect on the economy, bringing in over $100 million dollars in two years. In today's currency after inflation, that’s over $2 billion dollars.
The government participated in a great "push" to get its citizens to move to west. At first few people moved to the west, but this changed when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This caused a "gold rush" to the west coast which consisted of many prospectors seeking to find their fortunes in the gold mines of California. Many traveled to the west coast, however few actually found their fortunes.
The Pikes Peak Gold Rush took place between July of 1858 and February of 1861. The Pikes Peak Gold Rush was later to be named the Colorado Gold Rush due to its location. It was only the start of the mining industry. Thousands of people took place in mining, those of which were called the “fifty-niners.” William G. Russell was the leader of the expedition to the Rockies. He was married to a Cherokee Indian, which is how he heard of the gold findings in 1849. Based on the rumors of the gold that was being found in Pikes Peak, Russell organized a group including his two brothers and six companions to seek the gold. After doing so, the discovery of gold findings by the prospectors in 1858 sprung up a boom. Once the news of the gold discoveries
The American West was the land of opportunity for many groups of people from 1865 to 1890. For farmers and ranchers, the American west was a land of opportunity due to low cost of land as a result of the Homestead Act and the a chance for Americans, including immigrants and blacks, to achieve the American dream and make a profit by growing crops such as cotton for the thriving textile industry and raising cattle for the upcoming cattle industry. For the miners, the American West was seen as an opportunity to get rich through the gold and silver rush and was even popular in other parts of the world where immigrants responded to the rush as well; although most were not successful. The America West offered opportunities for Americans, both rich and poor, to establish a new life and achieve economic independence.
The California Gold Rush in 1849 was the catalyst event for the state that earned them a spot in the U.S. union in 1850. This was not the first gold rush in North America; however, it was one of the most important gold rush events. The story of how the gold was discovered and the stories of the 49ers are well known. Men leaving their families in the East and heading West in hopes of striking it rich are the stories that most of us heard about when we learn about the California Gold Rush. Professors and scholars over the last two decades from various fields of study have taken a deeper look into the Gold Rush phenomena. When California joined the Union in 1850 it helped the U.S. expand westward just as most Americans had intended to do. The event of the Gold Rush can be viewed as important because it led to a national railroad. It also provided the correct circumstances for successful entrepreneurship, capitalism, and the development modern industrialization. The event also had a major influence on agriculture, economics, and politics.
The westward movement was a time period from the 1840’s to the 1860’s, where the Americans traveled west in search of land and/or gold. In this essay, you will read about the wagon trails, Manifest Destiny, people, medicine, religion, politics, railroads, and the gold rush. There were numerous reasons why people came west on the trails. Many wanted land, which was free as long as you settled and farmed on it. Others sought gold, considered an easy way to get rich.
The economy would also blossom during this expansion. First, the Manifest Destiny included extremely inexpensive land for sale in the west. In some cases it was free since it was government land, and they passed things like the Homestead Act to encourage westward settlements. With so many people taking part in horizontal mobility by moving west, it gave the economy a chance to expand commerce. We would do this by building ports and increasing trade with countries in the Pacific. The economy also got a kick when there were gold or silver rushes in the west. These occurred in Denver, Colorado (1859), Virginia City, Nevada (1859), Last Chance Gulch (1861), and in the Black Hills of the Dakotas (1875). All of these sporadic improvements of the economy helped us grow into a big super power.New inspirations entered the art world at this time too. Many artists tried to capture the image of Manifest Destiny by illustrating families traveling west.
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 exploration of the West could have had the greatest economic impact on the United States ever. After the west had now been explored, they realized they had a great deal of land that now had to be settled. The land was so vast and so cheap that it was sold for very low prices and sometimes just given away. This caused a huge surge of people to begin flowing west and sparked westward expansion. People began setting up farms and more and more people had opportunities to make a good living.
The expansion to the western lands of the United States created a number of benefits for the economy and its citizens. With the expansion to these lands, Americans gained the added land area along with the resources that the land possessed. One of these valuable resources that attracted Americans to the West was gold. During the mid-1800s, gold was discovered in northeastern California. This inspired a movement of many Americans to leave their homes to settle in the West in the hope of discovering gold. This gold rush attracted primarily single men into the uncharted western lands.
First of all, the California Gold Rush helped to settle the western United States by giving people a reason to head west. In his state of the Union Address in December 1848, President Polk broadcasted the discovery of gold, causing a rush to the west. The search for gold brought almost 300,000 people to California by the year 1850. These people did not just include Americans, but instead included people from every corner of the globe and every continent. The influx of travelers to the west required a faster mode of transportation be developed. Thus the Panama Railway, the world’s first transcontinental railroad was born. Prior to the railroad, there were only two ways to get to California. One way was to risk travel from New York to California on a six month sea journey. This was a disease ridden voyage with many different food and water rations. Anothe...
As most folks do, when I think of the term “Gold Rush”, it conjures up images of the West! Images of cowboys and crusty old miners ruthlessly and savagely staking their claims. Immigrants coming by boat, folks on foot, horseback, and covered wagon form all over the US to rape and pillage the land that was newly acquired from Mexico through the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo… California. But let me tell you about a gold rush of another kind, in another place, even more significant. It was the actual first documented discovery of gold in the United States! Fifty years earlier…in North Carolina!
Post Civil War, America was looking for new opportunities to become a stronger and more efficient nation. Though reconstruction collapsed, they took the opportunity of the Manifest Destiny to gain the territories of the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican-American War and settle the west. With this expansion, it provided numerous opportunities for the people to gain success alongside the nation. The gold rush caused an increase in immigration that brought more people to the newly flourishing nation, and allowed the west coast to become settled as well as help the economy from the new wealth. The land that was gained in the Louisiana Purchase provided the Great Plains, where pioneers settled and ranching operations were run. Though it sadly pushed away the native tribes who originally lived there, throughout the gilded age the government has tried to return to them their land and rights – and gives them reparations today. All of which provided a basis to the American dream that gave the opportunity for a better life to many people. Towns and economy was...
The California gold rush brought many settlers to the west in search of fortune. The first person to discover gold in California was James Marshall, it was because of his finding if gold that thousands flocked to California. Although in the east many promises where being made about riches not everybody would strike golf. An example of this was Jean Nicholas Furlough who came to California from Belgium to become rich although he never did.
During the late 1840's California did not show much promise or security. It had an insecure political future, its economic capabilities were severely limited and it had a population, other than Indians, of less than three thousand people. People at this time had no idea of what was to come of the sleepy state in the coming years. California would help boost the nation's economy and entice immigrants to journey to this mystical and promising land in hopes of striking it rich.
This is the period of the Gold Rush. Reasons why this event was so impeccable, to the development of California, are the years leading up to the discovery, the first findings, the journey, and so much more. Americans, inspired by the idea of manifest destiny meaning it was their God given right to rule the entire, mass, amount of land from ocean to ocean. Thanks to this vision, it quickly sent current land occupiers, California, Mexico, and the United States in two completely different directions. In 1846, Mexican soldiers rose up against United States forces.