California Gold Rush

While learning about California I realized that the California gold rush was a very significant time in US history. It helped develop settlement in a place that was mysterious to most settlers at this time. The first discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, and began the frenzied rush to California of gold seekers from around the world. This restless tide of diverse humanity invaded California seeking to change their lives and fortunes. What happened in California in those few years of the Gold Rush changed not only the lives of those caught up in the rush but the very nature of California itself — and the nation it had so recently joined. California became a territory of immense complexity and diversity. 80,000 immigrants poured into California in 1849; men and women of all ethnic group worked and lived together sharing and learning new cultures. They came on the California Trail and by ship around Cape Horn or through the Panama shortcut. The majority of them came in one immense wave during mid summer the traveling conditions must have been almost unbearable. At the same time, sailing ships were heading to San Francisco. By the 1850s miners were coming from places all over the world-Britain, Europe, China, Australia, North and South America. I believe women played an important, yet underestimated role during the gold rush. At the time, women were scarce, but those who lived in California realized the entrepreneurial opportunities that existed and put their domestic skills to work and profit.