How Did The California Gold Rush

Gold was discovered in California in the year of 1948. This discovery prompted many people to pack up and journey to the “Golden Mountains” in hopes of becoming rich. Although everyone was excited because of the gold, the economy was affected in other indirect manners as well. While many people became filthy rich and were living the dream, many did not. But it was the shortage of jobs in other areas that presented major opportunities. It goes like this; immigrants would make the trek to California with big hopes, only to be let down when they find the gold wasn’t as easy to find as they thought. They would then get jobs in the fast growing cities. Negatively, this did cause troubles for the Native Americans as it exploited them. The Native Americans fell victim to genocidal attacks, starvation, and diseases. In 25 years from 1845-1870, it is estimated that the Indian population in California fell from 150,000 people to about 30,000.

San Francisco represented an economic opening in the big picture; because of the gold rush, manufacturing, trade, merchant businesses, agricultural entertainment market, and new banks and financial institutions rapidly grew. This all contributed to the introduction of capitalism, as it was the beginning of a new era. Not only did the state’s economy improve, but the nation’s economy as a whole also was impacted by the gold rush. Many companies across the country made some sort of investment in the gold rush and did well. Besides the economy, the gold rush also impacted the nation in the area of