What was the california gold rush?

Thousands of Gold Rush prospectors got rich—but John Sutter wasn't one of them. ... It was during the construction of a sawmill on Sutter's land along the American River that one of his employees first discovered the gold nugget that would change the world. read more

At a time when restless Americans were already itching to go west, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 was like gasoline on a fire. Within a year of its discovery, emigrants using the California Trail were flooding into the Sierra Nevada Range by the thousands. read more

The Gold Rush undoubtedly sped up California’s admission to the Union as the 31st state. In late 1849, California applied to enter the Union with a constitution preventing slavery, provoking a crisis in Congress between proponents of slavery and abolitionists. read more

The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. read more