The California Gold Rush

One moment the California creek beds glimmered with

gold; the next, the same creeks ran red with the blood of

men and women defending their claims or ceding their bags

of gold dust to bandits. The "West" was a ruthless territory

during the nineteenth century. With more than enough gold

dust to go around early in the Gold Rush, crime was rare,

but as the stakes rose and the easily panned gold dwindled,

robbery and murder became a part of life on the frontier.

The "West" consisted of outlaws, gunfighters, lawmen,

whores, and vigilantes. There are many stories on how the

"West" begun and what persuaded people to come and

explore the new frontier, but here, today, we are going to

investigate those stories and seek to find what is fact
The rumor flew and Sutter's mill workers,

which were Mormon, caught wind of it and began

searching for their own fortune. Shortly after they fled, they

too found gold. The site in which they found their fortunes

became known as Mormon Island, the first mining camp to

be established after the discovery of gold at Marshall's mill

(Erdoes 119). From that moment on, the west began to

boom in population and prosper in every direction.

First Blood

Gold fever caught on in a hurry, and this attracted many

different people to the new frontier. Dreams of gold and

success sparkled in the eyes of every cotton picker, farmer,

and blue- collar worker west of the Mississippi. Once the

fever spread across the nation and throughout the

territories, bloodshed was going to be inevitable. Greed

takes a toll on the mind of many and convinces people to

do things that aren't even logical. People become very

protective of their property and are willing to do anything to

protect it, even defend it to their death. The violence must

have started somewhere and at sometime over

something.... But when? On the night of October 1, 1848,

eight months after James Marshall's discovery, several
When we analyze what took place and

what events occurred because of the discovery of gold, we

think, "Was it all worth it?" The violence, the greed; was it

necessary? Clearly, violence did not occur at all times or in

all places during the Gold Rush. It was continuous and

relentless. There's no doubt many gold camps and other

communities saw low rates of violence. But the point is that

overall, violence in the Gold Rush was much more

commonplace than anything Americans had ever seen

before in peacetime. The California Gold Rush was one of

the most important American events of the nineteenth

century and its influence on migration, economic

development, politics, and culture was deep and lasting. It

was the prototype for all gold and silver rushes to follow.

From these rushes brought the booming frontiers in mining,

cattle, and land, which, within the space of two generations,

would settle the west and eventually close the frontier. And

so now, when California is thought of and remembered, let

it be remembered as the West. The West in which it truly

is, has been, and always remain, in American