The Gold Rush And It's Impact On California

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The Gold Rush and it’s Impact on California

The Gold Rush had a major impact on California economically, demographically, and socially. “The boom” a term used in a time of quick growth and prosperity was the ideal definition for the gold rush. It certainly paved the way for California to be the most prosperous and diverse state in the union. The American dream had moved out west and was now redefined. It was the California dream that now enticed immigrants from all over the nation and even the world to flock to California. Without the Gold Rush the history, as we know it today, would have been changed.
In the early 1840s, California was a terrain that yet needed to be developed. San Francisco was a small port town of about a few hundred residents. This all changed when James W. Marshall a man working for John Sutter has discovered on Sutter’s land “some kind of mettle”. It was later discovered that the metal that they found was indeed gold. At that moment the word that gold was in the hills of California spread like a disease. The opportunity of instant wealth gave men across the nation and even the world a reason to move to California. Many prospectors made it rich and those who didn’t helped California to prosper economically. They helped by construction and other services that strengthen California’s economy.
There was a great migration during the Gold Rush and those who migrated were said to have “The Fever”. “The Fever” was the thirst for gold and prosperity. It was also the determination to get to California just to have the opportunity. It was “the fever” that affected California demographically. After the announcement of gold had been confirmed, over 40,000 prospectors came to California within the first two years. It was a revelation, but development fell behind. In San Francisco there would be “thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of every kind rotting in the st...