Would you travel, live, and work under harsh conditions for months to fulfill a dream? Thousands of gold hunters from all corners of the world did so in hopes of striking rich after an abrupt discovery of gold in the American territory of California. This huge worldwide flock of people became known as The California Gold Rush of 1849. The Gold Rush granted riches to only a handful of miners, but provided Americans as well as many foreigners a new homeland and life.

At the start of the 1830 decade, about 500 people resided in California. One of these settlers was John Sutter (Boyer 336). Sutter was a Swiss immigrant who came to California in 1839 intending to build his own private empire. On 24 January 1848, James Marshall, an employee of Sutter, was assisting with the construction of a lumber mill on the American River in the Sacramento Valley. A bright glint in the river caught Marshall’s eye. It appeared to be a bright, soft metal. In disbelief, Marshall and Sutter......

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Title: California Gold Rush Of 1849
Approximate Word Count: 1600
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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