California Gold Rush Research Paper

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The California Gold Rush is one of the most important events in California history. From the discovery of gold by John Sutter and James Marshall to the shaping of California, it has played an enormous role in creating history. It led a great influx of immigrants around the world and served as a hope to gain financial power, and many people did get a fortune from the Gold Rush. Moreover, because of the Gold Rush, California became well-known and populated which are the foundations of a good states. However, many landscapes in California were destroyed because of harmful mining methods such as hydraulic mining, and using explosives. Although the Gold Rush damaged the natural resources and ruined people’s dreams, it can be regarded as the main …show more content…
As the news went out from Sam Brannan, people working under him got discouraged because the gold was so convincing, and left his fort. He wrote in the Hutchings’ California magazine that his tannery was deserted with “leather left unfinished in the vats”, all trades was abandoned, all of his white workers left and Indians who worked for him got engaged by white men to work for them in the Gold Rush. He even sent his remaining Indians to find gold because they got too distracted from work, but they didn’t bring him any gold. The gold discovery was a heavy loss for John Sutter although he could have got the most out of it. John Sutter regarded the Gold Rush as a misfortune rather than a fortune. Although his fort had become crowded and a major trading post, he didn’t like to be there anymore, and left for Hock Farm. He also blamed the Land Commission for the delayed land grant. He noted in his article “I would have been the richest citizen on the Pacific shore; but it had to be different. Instead of being rich, I am ruined.” Therefore, the man who could have been the most successful in the Gold Rush ended up losing his dreams.
Although the news was conceiving, the majority of miners didn’t go home with tons of money like they dreamed about when they came to California. The news made not only Americans but also people around the world come to California to follow a new dream, a wealthy life and easy rich. However, about three years after the spread of the news, most of the gold was depleted, and the miners were still coming in, which result in difficult conditions and failures. The miner’s song
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