These are my personal knowledge of the American "gold rush", but compared to the real American history, it is still far from it. After all, the historical life at that time could not be summed up in one or two sentences.

How many tragic things have happened during this period of history? How many joys, sorrows, and sorrows have you experienced? I believe that only those who have experienced it can experience it.

When I first started reading, I saw a few other words written in the notebook: Once Upon a Time in California.

I suppose that the person who wrote this note must have wanted to record the whole process of the gold panning and the excitement and joy of the gold harvest at first. However, for some reason, it ended up being a memoir.

There are only a few records of the "gold rush" in the notes. Judging by the owner's record of this book, the "Gold Rush" did not bring him (or her) many good experiences.

The note states:

"When it comes to gold panning, many people will definitely think of the sight of gold diggers who salvage the silt from the river or lake and wash the silt in the pan in order to find the natural golden sand in the silt. However, only a few of us know that it is the capitalists who deserve hell who really profit from the gold rush!

These few lines remind me of the gold rush that has been set off several times in the history of the United States. At that time, gold panning was a means of enrichment in the eyes of many adventurers, and many speculative merchants appeared.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the United States embarked on a westward expansion to the west. As a result, groups of adventurers have also advanced to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. When the news of the discovery of gold in California was confirmed, it triggered another massive wave of immigration. People put down their jobs and flock to San Francisco to try to make their dreams of gold come true.

From then on, the United States began an unstoppable westward movement. The frontier of the United States continued to advance from the Mississippi River to the west coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Year 1848. People who made their way to California discovered gold here, which immediately caused a sensation around the world. Immediately, a gold rush of unprecedented scale quickly formed, which greatly stimulated the westward expansion movement and the development of the American West.

It can be said that the gold rush was an important part of the westward expansion movement, like a beautiful fragment on a magnificent picture. It is an indispensable stroke in the history of the United States. It is also of great significance to the development of the United States as a whole.

In fact, gold has been found many times along the Pacific coast before that.

It is recorded that the larger gold discoveries were made in 1841 near Los Angeles, and in 1842 in Southern California. Neither time did it have a shocking effect, and although the discovery of gold in 1842 attracted hundreds of gold diggers, it soon fell silent.

This is because before 1848, these gold discoveries had taken place in Native American areas. But. The society of the Indians was still quite primitive, and they did not understand the economic value of gold. Moreover, there were very few immigrants here at that time, and the development of the commodity economy was low. Communication with the outside world was also limited, so news of the discovery of the gold mine did not spread.

By 1848, however, the situation had changed dramatically with the westward movement. With the continuous entry of immigrants, the continuous development of economic production, and the closer interaction with the outside world. So that things like the discovery of gold are no longer "always local".

The westward expansion movement not only meant the expansion of the territory of the United States, but more profoundly, it made the commodity economy and the capitalist mode of production widely spread and transplanted in North America.

Fifties of the 19th century. The development of Americans in California, as well as their way of thinking, behavioral norms, and relationships, formed the cultural background for the gold rush to flourish.

And the news of the gold discovery that "eventually spread to the whole world" was a risk-taking businessman, manipulator and land speculator named "Branner". He founded a series of businesses in California and had a head office in the Sutter neighborhood.

In March 1848, regular customers began offering gold to pay for whisky and other goods. Branner immediately grasped the significance of this discovery.

So, realizing that there would be unlimited business opportunities coming, he immediately tried every possible way to raise supplies to meet the needs of customers for his products, and then in exchange for a large amount of sandsand. This reflects the rise of the gold rush. It is linked to the stimulus and adjustment of the market economy. And this connection was created by the westward expansion movement.

The outbreak and conduct of the California Gold Rush was also directly driven by the U.S. government. At that time, the United States had just finished fighting the Mexican War, which aimed to achieve the "destiny of heaven," and the idea of turning California into another star on the American flag was already the trend of the times. The government is needing a large number of Americans to enter California so that the population of the region can reach the legal amount required to apply for federal membership in the name of the state.

At the time, a U.S. official claimed that the gold mines were worth enough to cover the cost of the war in Mexico hundreds of times more. Later, the discovery of gold deposits in California was confirmed.

Many people in the East of the United States, who had been skeptical, suddenly came to their senses and immediately moved westward, flocking to California like a tidal wave. When the population of the gold rush increases dramatically, which in turn affects the scarcity of goods. The U.S. government also tried every means to adjust and coordinate the supply of goods, and even sent a delegation to China. They demanded that Chinese merchants be able to ship their goods directly to California.

Nominally, it is "trade", but in fact it is a regulation to support the government!

It is said that in June 1848, half of San Francisco's house was emptied, and two newspapers had to be closed due to the departure of the typesetters and the separation of subscribers. Even the soldiers on the warships of the US Navy have only six sailors left. The craze then swept through Oregon north of San Francisco and Mexico in the south.

In Oregon, in the summer of 1848 alone, half of the adult men, about 3,000 people, left behind the soon-to-be-harvested grain California. At the same time, more than 4,000 Mexicans made their way north to California.

The note is enough to illustrate the situation at that time: "On the way to the mine in California, the factories were idle as people rushed to the mines, the wheat fields were left to be grazing by cattle and sheep, the houses were empty, and the farms were deserted......

The whole world seems to be singing 'Oh! Susanna. Oh! California, that's the place for me! ’。 Thousands of gold prospectors from North America, Europe, and the ends of the earth have skyrocketed California's population.

From San Francisco to Los Angeles, from the coast to the mountains of Nevada, almost the entire region was filled with the cry: 'Gold! Gold! ’

At first, because the golden sand was on the surface. So, with just an ordinary washbasin, you can scour the gold out of the sand.

At that time, the average person earned $20 a day, which was twenty times the daily wage of a worker in the eastern United States. In a bonanza area, the per capita daily income is $2,000! People are singing and dancing, reaping joy, it is like a paradise on earth!

It was the most beautiful and prosperous time in California! (To be continued......)