introduction James W Marshall was a thirty-seven-year-old carpenter building a sawmill along the American River in Coloma California when something shiny caught his eye on January 24 1848 Could these glittering flakes actually be gold Marshall gathered up the bright yellow pieces and sped to the office of the mill’s owner John Sutter Urging him to secrecy Marshall showed Sutter his findings Sutter tested the flakes and confirmed Marshall’s suspicion gold had been found in California Within months Marshall’s discovery was made public sparking a chain of events that transformed California and fueled the westward push of the United States In the years that followed Marshall’s discovery California’s population exploded Lured by the promise of riches and a new life people from around the world flooded into California Emigrants from Mexico Chile China Australia Germany Ireland and France came with the hope of striking it rich and returning home 4
INTRODUCTION Today the Sutter’s Mill site is part of Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park The park includes a model of the original sawmill and many historic buildings 5
THE GOLD RUSH with fortunes in their pockets American gold seekers traveled west from the eastern states migrating in such vast numbers that their passage stimulated advancements advancements in transcontinental travel People of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities traveled to California selling their property and getting loans to afford the journey Along the way they risked danger and disease for a chance at gaining riches The influx of migrants had serious consequences for the many native peoples of California The people whose ancestors had lived in California for thousands of years shared little of the prosperity brought to California by the Gold Rush Many American Indians were involved in the Gold Rush from its earliest days but were mistreated by white settlers and reduced to positions as laborers with low wages California’s Indians were devastated by the many diseases that were brought by migrants during the late 1840s and throughout the 1850s Before the Gold Rush Indians made up most of California’s population numbering about 150,000 By 1870 however only thirty thousand Indians remained Many of them were moved to reservations reservations where living conditions were very poor The settlements that arose in response to the Gold Rush and the environmental impact of gold mining made traditional traditional Native American lifestyles impossible to maintain 6
INTRODUCTION In 1849 alone 10 million worth of gold was pulled from the ground and over the next few years this number number grew In view of the huge amounts of money that could be made and the rising lawlessness in mining settlements politicians pushed to speed up the process of statehood In 1850 California became the thirty-first state The Gold Rush peaked in 1852 when 81 million worth of gold was extracted in California Afterward the number slowly declined By the end of the 1850s the Gold Rush was over but its legacy would continue to influence California and the nation in the years to come 7
