The obsession with gold in California started in January 1848 when James Marshall found gold at approximately 40 miles from the Sutter’s Fort. All that followed after James’ find was extreme obsession to find the precious commodity not only in California but the rest of America. From the period henceforth, the prospect for gold became dramatic as everyone else was seeking to lay hands on the commodity (Brands 56).
It is hard to imagine what could have happened if a whole population stopped their usual economic activities only to look for gold. James’ find not only transformed people’s psychosis but brought a total revolution to the American nation. As a matter of fact, finding gold in California brought what one would call gold fever not only in American nation but globally. For the first time after the crusades, mass movement was evident during the period as people moved in large masses from American States and beyond to prospect for gold in California (Brands 58).
Nonetheless, people moved from their areas of residence including China and Australia to live at the mining State. This phenomenon not only affected the social setup of the American community but also their political and economic landscape. To be precise, America was never the same again from the political and economic point of view. In short, American history was clearly distinguished in terms of “before” and “after” the gold find (Holliday 48). To start with, the mass movement from other States to the Golden State; a name that California earned after the discovery of deposits, brought a population outburst into the State.
Before gold was found in California, the State had a population of just 15,000, however, after the discovery, the population rose to over 400,000 people. Population growth had direct impact on both the political and economic set up of the State. The discovery of gold brought fortune to the State of California. There was a significant economic growth from the sale of gold to the rest of America and the international market. From an economical point of view, the huge labor that was got from the immigrants led to the growth of California. Yet still, there was dire need to provide basic needs for the large population that had grown to 400,000 by the end of 1852 (Kevin 57).
There exist some points of similarities on the impact of the gold rush between the political and economic set up of the State. Immigration is a political issue, nonetheless, the immigrant brought in an economical implication as they led to the growth of the State. From thereafter, San Francisco grew into an exciting city, a fact that it still maintains to date. The huge sums of money got from gold were used to develop the State either directly or indirectly. The yields gathered from gold ware slightly above $80m by the end of 1852 and approximately $600m by 1860. The amounts were quite high and could not be got from any source then (Brands 60).
On the other side, the political scene of the State drastically changed. There were a high number of immigrants into California. The huge masses can be attributed to the development of San Francisco and California as a whole. The political impact of the immigrants was more or less the economic impacts. The immigrants not only came to mine gold but also to engage in other subsidiary trades apart from trading in the mined gold. However, a bigger number of the population came to prospect for gold. All these impacts, whether political or economic brought in a considerable change in the economic scene of the State (Kevin 39).
However, not all the impacts brought in by the discovery of gold in California were beneficial to the inhabitants and the American nation as a whole. The politics of the State was brought to a revolution; the immigrants were not only Americans from other States but the rest of the world as well. The discovery paved way for criminal activities in California; a specific example is the rise of gangs in the State. Several immigrants came to California disguised as gold miners only to form criminal gangs (James 74). Moreover, the big population became difficult to control; basic needs became a problem too. Finally, the political landscape also changed as for the first time, the government of California had to make necessary arrangements to control the big population.
On the economic scene, the discovery brought in totally different economic beliefs. The need for gold cash destroyed the agrarian ethos and the famous protestant work ethics. All these traditional beliefs were replaced by the get-rich-quick theory; a theory that was developed after the gold discovery (Heizer 74). Moreover, the find brought in the worship of the dollar; people’s minds were changed to believe that money was not everything, it was the only thing. Furthermore, the huge population outburst brought in several economic problems. Most of the immigrants were looking for money to remit back home regardless of the laws of the land.
It’s therefore right to conclude that the gold rush era revolutionized the State of California and the rest of America both economically and politically. This is an aspect that can be directly deduced from the very nature of the gold prospect. As a matter of fact, life was never the same again in California and America as a whole (James 75).
Works Cited
Brands, H.W. The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New America Dream. San Fransisco and New York: Random Hous Publishers, 2002.
Heizer, Robert. The Destruction of Carlifornia Indians. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1974.
Holliday. Rush For Riches; Gold Fever and the Making of California. Oakland, California, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999.
James, Rawls. A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California (California History Sesquicentennial Series, 2). Berkely and Loss Angeles: University of California Press, 1999.
Kevin, Starr. California: A history of California. New York: NY: The Modern Library Press, 2005.
