Personal Narrative: The California Gold Rush

For some, it was destiny to move west. Although there were many conflicts and disagreements between ourselves and others, it was destiny to move west because of overpopulation, new inventions of transportation methods, and new opportunities.

The Gold Rush supposedly inspired the largest mass movement of people in world history because of the incredibly large masses of gold being found in the West. People found thousands of dollars in gold and people of all different cultures and backgrounds moved Westwards in hopes of finding gold as well. The Gold Rush left a positive effect on American History because Americans became wealthier and more foreigners came to California which expanded diversity.

For twenty years after the Gold Rush, Americans in California felt extremely remote from the rest of the United States. The early Forty-Niners of the California Gold Rush wishing to come to California were faced with limited options. Some options included sailing around South America from the Atlantic which could take up to eight months or travel by land but that came with many dangers as well. The railroads helped establish countless towns and settlements, it paved the way to abundant mineral deposits and fertile tracts of pastures and farmland, and created new markets for eastern goods.

The California Gold Rush was a period when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California. It was in the year of 1848. The Gold Rush was important because James W. Marshall found the gold, John Sutter kept the secret and lead on with the discovery, and Samuel Brannan was an important buyer and seller of the gold.

Did you know that the start of the California Gold rush brought more than 250,000 people west to California? The Gold Rush was a defining time in the history of California. The outcome of the California Gold Rush was a significant compromise in the nineteenth century because it led to forming of towns as people migrated, forming of California as a state, and the Compromise of 1850.

Growing up in California, my whole life has been around farming and like many others, it’s how I make a living. It’s now been at least a year, living through the Dust bowl and many people have migrated to California with the hope of surviving this crisis. Keeping my crops has become a struggle and that's what most people including me depend on. I am lucky enough to be able to pay my mortgages even though I’m not able to keep the land with the help of family. It’s practically impossible. Each day doesn’t seem to get better, only worse. Sunlight is almost rare, It’s as if the world is coming to end after all. I try to stay inside as often as I can because facing what’s outside is a dreadful thing but at some point of the day I’ll need to run

Whenever somebody thinks of immigration in the U.S., they think of people coming from different countries but immigration also happens within the country itself. One of the greatest immigrations was to California during the Gold Rush in 1849. Gold was found near Sacramento at Sutter 's Mill as the news of the discovery began to spread people from the east and several thousands from around the world went to California with the hope of striking it rich and bringing tons of gold home. The Gold Rush in California created an economic boom in the Bay Area, a mix of new cultures and a new type of society.

Visiting to a state that I have always wanted to go is to visit Colorado with my family; therefore, it was fun while going to that place. This happened last years’ summer. There are a few things that we did in that state. So before we went to Colorado, we had to drive from one state to another. Like we first drove from Illinois, our state, to Iowa. We had to stop in Iowa for many reasons. Our family had to stop to using bathrooms, we also stop and to get gas because we drove on the highway, and sometimes we do have to stop and get some food and drinks because we’re always hungry and thirsty; and after we do those stuffs, it’s time to get back onto the highway.

In 1700 the americans took over the land that the cherokee indians were living on. The trail of tears caused many lives. The trail of tears is an event that we will always remember.

The California Gold Rush is one of the most known gold rushes in the U.S. The phenomenon was started by James Marshall when he found gold in the American River and he said “My heart thumped for I knew it was gold.” Because of his findings the California Gold Rush was born in 1848, then died seven years later in 1855. During these seven years California accumulated over 300,000 people that left their homes to mine for gold. If the gold rush never happened California would most likely belong to Mexico. The California Gold Rush, a phenomenon that drew thousands of people trying to strike it rich with gold had both positive and negative effects in California.

The huge influx of people into California, especially the city of San Francisco, opened up many more opportunities in the economic scheme of things. Manufacturing, trade, merchant businesses, agriculture, entertainment market, and the newly formed banks and financial institutions all flourished and prospered because of the gold rush. The economy in California blossomed. The national economy also was impacted by the gold rush and did well because many companies across the country invested, in some way, shape or form, in the gold rush.

The Westward Expansion all started when America made the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. There were many benefits from the purchase for the US that the French didn’t realize before they sold it. The purchase gave the US access to the Mississippi river which allowed for expansion of river trade to the North and South from the center of the US. The port city of New Orleans was bought by the US and its prosperity benefited the US greatly. The US sent Lewis and Clark west to investigate the land they purchased. After their exploration, many people started to take interest in moving West. There were many different reasons why people moved, including a search for a fresh start at life, a chance at starting an economic success through agriculture and

The California Gold Rush was a rush of people in search of gold in California. The gold

The California Gold Rush; an era of hope, greed, destruction, and growth. The California Gold Rush was, in the 1800s, a direct pathway to the American Dream. In January 1848 James Wilson Marshall found gold in the American River. This new discovery spread throughout the United States and eventually throughout the world. After President Polk confirmed the rumors of gold in California in 1848 (Oakland Museum Staff), around 250,000 people came to California in seek of the soft metal that could lead to a fortune: gold (The forty-niners). The California Gold Rush not only presented fortune, it presented a new idea of the American Dream: “‘one where the emphasis was on the ability to take risks and the willingness to gamble

After years of waiting and preparing we started on the journey to the west. We made our way to Independence, Missouri to go on the Oregon Trail which was laid by traders and trapers. While there I became familiar with George Wilson who was also a working family man.