1849 Gold Rush

• Gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California


  1848
• California is on the west coast of the USA, just beyond Oregon
• News of the gold discovery spread rapidly throughout the country
• The gold discovery became the greatest 'pull' factor attracting migrants to the west
• Thousands of migrants rushed to California to try and find their fortune


  1849
• The population of California grew rapidly from just 15,000 in 1848 to 300,000 by 1855
• Though some lucky prospectors did become very rich, the vast majority failed to find any gold and either returned home or settled permanently in California as farmers
• Consequences of the Gold Rush

  • New prospectors needed somewhere to buy food, drink, equipment and entertainment
  • Provided a great opportunity for Californians to become shopkeepers and tradesmen
  • Californian became the perfect advertisement for western settlement
• The huge population boom led to problems of law and order with many resorting to taking the law into their own hands
• There was also a lot of racial tension as white miners clashed with Hispanics, Californian Indians, free African Americans and the Chinese