Why did Californias population grow so much faster than Oregon and Washingtons?
The California Gold Rush dramatically changed California with a large influx of people and an economic boom which caused San Francisco to grow from a tiny hamlet of tents to a world renowned boomtown in the 19th century. In 1848, the non-native population of California has been estimated to be no more than 15,000. But after gold was discovered, the population burgeoned with U.S. citizens, Europeans, and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. The struggle between Mexico to retain the territory and the United States to incorporate California as a state led to large numbers of Mexicans coming North to fight the Americans. When Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay and began the military occupation of California by the United States. Northern California capitulated in less than a month to the U.S. forces. After a series of defensive battles in Southern California, including The Siege of Los Angeles, the Battle of Dominguez Rancho, the B
