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California Gold Rush Essay

660 Words3 Pages

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.
Before the Gold Rush, California was hugely underpopulated. The only people that lived there were Native Americans, Mexicans, and a few American immigrants. The towns were small and nearly abandoned. When the Gold Rush started that completely change. The small cities grew and the Bay Area became closer to what it is today and an economic boom occurred.
One way the economy grew was because of the gold that was found in the area. Men would work all day. In total of "2 billion"( History.com) dollars of gold …show more content…

The best way that could be seen is by the growth of San Francisco. Before the discovery of gold, San Francisco was a small town that was practically deserted. San Francisco turned out to be "the closest port to the gold fields, thus everything- miners, merchandise, supplies and gold- passed through the city" (The Impact of Gold). The picture "California Gold Rush City" shows that the city grew and stopped being a poor little town with some cabins and became more industrial. Also mining companies were created in the area. Not only did the Gold Rush help with the Bay Area it also helped the national economy as a whole because many companies from the East invested into businesses. Also several individuals like Levis Strauss struck it rich not by mining but by creating things that miners would

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