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California Gold Rush Research Paper

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Grace pender
Mrs. Ragusky
7th hour

You’ve come all this way, a three month journey hoping to find gold. You’re sick and almost there. Your family is counting on you, You have to push through. In 1847 california was officially American territory after the war between Mexico and the United States. The California gold rush was hard for several individuals due to hard travel, several thousand people being unsuccessful, and crime. The travel to California was easier for some than others. Some people left the East Coast by land, but were slowed down by things like not having direct roads and waterway. Others chose to go by water and sailed around the tip of south america to get to California, this journey was also risky. But this journey wasn’t a quick few days. It took around two to four months! “Drinking water, stored in barrels for months, developed a vile taste, and had to be mixed with vinegar and molasses to be drinkable.” (Getting to California, Saffer, Barbara) Some of these people were extremely unhealthy due to these conditions. Many people had terrible diseases such as Typhoid, Dysentery, Yellow Fever, …show more content…
Obviously there isn’t enough gold in california for hundreds of thousands of people. But coming all of that way and not finding anything must have been very disappointing. “Very few made their fortunes by mining. Instead it was those who provided services required by prospectors who ‘hit the motherload.’” (Success Without a Shovel, Zuber, Shari Lyn) Prospectors are people who their job is to mine and dig for deposits. These people who truly knew what they were doing were truly successful. A lot of people started to lose hope when in reality they were probably close to getting something. Lots of people gave up too early but those who kept trying got what they worked for. These people put their mind to it and didn’t stop until they got what they wanted, but that isn’t the case for

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