What did the Gold Rush bring to California?
By an amazing coincidence, gold was discovered in Northern California within days of the signing of the treaty with Mexico, incidentally on land owned by John Sutter (remember him?). The discovery of gold quickly transformed the newest American outpost. The population surged from about 14,000 at the time Mexican rule ended to more than 90,000 by 1849, as people from throughout the US and other countries flocked to California. The growth and wealth stimulated every aspect of life, from agriculture and banking to construction and journalism. As a result of mining, hills were stripped bare, erosion wiped out vegetation, streams silted up and mercury washed down to San Francisco Bay. San Francisco became a hotbed of gambling, prostitution, drink and chicanery. Ostensibly under military rule, California had little effective government at all. The currency was a mixture of debased coinage, gold slugs, and foreign cash; the main law was miners law,’ an arbitrary and often harsh way of dealing
