The "Gold Fever"
What is a Gold RUsh?
Simply put: It is a desire for gold. After one huge chunk of gold was found, people sought after one of the most valuable metals found within America's lands. People risked their entire life, including their family, property, and career, just to get a chance to look and profit off of this gold. The biggest thing was that there was no certainty there would be a lot more gold, but people still gambled their lives on the fact that they would make a ton off of this gold. Money again showing how it runs the world.
Marshall
On the left, a picture of Coloma, California and the miners there. The first gold was discovered here.
-
James Wilson Marshall was an employee working at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California
-
He found the gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848
-
Was not the first report of gold, as the Spanish colony of California reported gold in 1816
-
People from California started moving into the area to witness and profit from the gold, and eventually Mexican miners migrated to the area
-
They taught the residents new techniques, such as dry washing
-
-
The California Gold Rush soon began following this initial discovery and a movement toward CA
Sutter's mill
-
Originally went to California for lumber, but then realized that gold is the way to go
-
His ventures in gold eventually collapsed, but his eldest son found success​
-
-
Mormons, notably a man named Samuel Brennan, volunteered in the and settled in the region
-
They then got employed by Sutter's sawmill, and discovered gold (mining off-site)​
-
-
They got paid $1.50 a day for working over 9-10 hours a day and then mined for the rest of the day
On the right, a picture of Sutter's mill, one of the earliest settlements that experienced mining in CA.
Press this!
Personal Profit
-
Miners did not make much money; merchants made more money during the gold rush
-
Samuel Brennan developed several shops that sold prospecting (mining) materials at a huge profit due to the demand at the time​
-
Half of the gold-seekers made a fairly modest profit, but white miners performed better than black, Spanish/Mexican, and Native American miners.
-
This is due to the foreign miner tax, meaning anyone "not white" had to face a tax on the gold they sold
-
-
Earlier miners were able to make more profit compared to people that arrived a lot later
-
-
Woman in California opened businesses in laundry, food preparation, and sewing
-
They figured that men invested in these services if they were run by women
-
