Gold Rush Essay, Research Paper
The Gold Rush
One moment the California creek beds glimmered with gold; the next, the same creeks ran red with the blood of men and women defending their claims or ceding their bags of gold dust to bandits. The “West” was a ruthless territory during the nineteenth century. With more than enough gold dust to go around early in the Gold Rush, crime was rare, but as the stakes rose and the easily panned gold dwindled, robbery and murder became a part of life on the frontier. The “West” consisted of outlaws, gunfighters, lawmen, whores, and vigilantes. There are many stories on how the “West” begun and what persuaded people to come and explore the new frontier, but here, today, we are going to investigate those stories and seek to find what is fact or what is fiction. These stories will send you galloping through the tumultuous California territory of the mid-nineteenth century, where disputes were settled with six shooters and the lines of justice were in a continuous chaos. Where’s the West, how and where did the West begin? This is the question that is asked most often and there is never a straight -forward answer. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject: “Oh, it started sometime in the nineteenth century,” or “The west is really just considered to be Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas.” Whatever happened to California actually being considered the “West?” With all honesty, even into the twentieth century, California is not thought of as being the “West,” or the “West” in the manner in which Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas are thought of. Cowboys, horses, and cattle are only considered to be in the central states, but what about California? To give a straight- forward answer on where and how the “Real West” or even the “Wild West” began; it began by a millhouse worker named James Marshall. On the morning of January 24, 1848, Marshall was working on his mill and looked down in the water and saw a sparkling dust floating along the creek bed (Erodes 116). Assuming it was gold, he told his fellow workers what he had found and they began searching for the mysterious metallic dust as well. Four days later Marshall rode down to Sutter’s Fort, in what is now Sacramento, and showed John Sutter what he had found. They weighed and tested the metal and became convinced that it was indeed gold. John Sutter wanted to keep the discovery secret, but that was going to be impossible. The rumor flew and Sutter’s mill workers, which were Mormon, caught wind of it and began searching for their own fortune. Shortly after they fled, they too found gold. The site in which they found their fortunes became known as Mormon Island, the first mining camp to be established after the discovery of gold at Marshall’s mill (Erodes 119). From that moment on, the west began to boom in population and prosper in every direction. First Blood Gold fever caught on in a hurry, and this attracted many different people to the new frontier. Dreams of gold and success sparkled in the eyes of every cotton picker, farmer, and blue- collar worker west of the Mississippi. Once the fever spread across the nation and throughout the territories, bloodshed was going to be inevitable. Greed takes a toll on the mind of many and convinces people to do things that aren’t even logical. People become very protective of their property and are willing to do anything to protect it, even defend it to their death. The violence must have started somewhere and at sometime over something…. But when? On the night of October 1, 1848, eight months after James Marshall’s discovery, several men were sleeping in James Marshall’s sawmill, originally owned by John Sutter (Erodes 137). Peter Raymond began banging on the door of the mill. Raymond, a twenty- one-year-old sailor from Dublin, Ireland, was drunk and irritated for not striking his fortune as fast as he planned. Raymond staggered in demanding more liquor from the now awakened men. John Von Pfister, arose and as a precaution shoved his knife into his waistband. Von Pfister managed to quiet the drunken sailor down and set him down on a bench to rest. Von Pfister leans over and says “Rest now my friend and we’ll be laughing about this in the morning” (Brown 13). Raymond sticks one hand out for a shake and with his other he strips Von Pfister of his knife and buries the blade into his heart. It is ironic that the first murder in the Gold Rush, the first of many that would follow, took place at the very spot where gold was discovered. Raymond fled and was later tracked down and killed near San Francisco. And so let it be written, this drunken episode of ignorance was the “first blood” of the Gold Rush. The Gun Fighting Era Along with the growth in population in the West, violence grew as well. There has always been confusion about when the “Gun Fighting Era” actually began? The Era of the western gunfighter assumingly began at the close of the Civil War. This untruth has been repeated so often since the 1930’s that it has become accepted as dogma among historians and “Old West” enthusiasts (Brown 296). People assume that this era began around this time because they only heard of the most infamous cowboys and gunfighters such as Billy the Kid, Pecos Bill, and/or Wyatt Earp. These particular men were wretched killers that had a lot of kills underneath their belts and were noticed more easily than the western gunfighters; those of whom did not go on killing sprees. The age of the gunfighter more correctly began in 1848, when the discovery of gold set off the great migration westward (Brown 297). This coincided with the development of Colt revolvers, most importantly the various .44 caliber Dragoon models, which first appeared in 1848; the .31 caliber pocket model of 1849; as well as many “pepperbox” models made by Allen & Thurber (Brown 297). The weapons were affordable, reliable, easily carried or concealed on the person, and deadly. So with technological development and a need for weapons California became known as the “Wild West.” Americans, and just not those on the frontier, understood that they were responsible for their own safety and for settling their own problems. The United States government did not exist in the California Territory. The non-existence of the government was also an even more attraction of why to come to the new frontier. Gamblers, gunfighters, and outlaws could roam freely throughout the territory and take what they wanted. All the more reason for the westerners to arm themselves for protection. When the creek beds of California glimmered with gold, only one thought went through every persons mind….money. When we analyze what took place and what events occurred because of the discovery of gold, we think, “Was it all worth it?” The violence, the greed; was it necessary? Clearly, violence did not occur at all times or in all places during the Gold Rush. It was continuous and relentless. There’s no doubt many gold camps and other communities saw low rates of violence. But the point is that overall, violence in the Gold Rush was much more commonplace than anything Americans had ever seen before in peacetime. The California Gold Rush was one of the most important American events of the nineteenth century and its influence on migration, economic development, politics, and culture was deep and lasting. It was the prototype for all gold and silver rushes to follow. From these rushes brought the booming frontiers in mining, cattle, and land, which, within the space of two generations, would settle the west and eventually close the frontier. And so now, when California is thought of and remembered, let it be remembered as the West. The West in which it truly is, has been, and will always remain, in American history.
Другие работы по теме:
Silas Marner Essay Research Paper In the
Silas Marner Essay, Research Paper In the novel Silas Marner, by George Eliot, the characters are in a search for happiness. One character named Godfrey Cass is disappointed in his search when relying on wealth and luck, instead of love, does not lead him to happiness. Another character, Silas Marner, looks first to a pile of gold that only consumes his life until he starts loving and caring for a child, who finally brings him happiness.
Archemides Essay Research Paper Archemides
Archemides Essay, Research Paper Archemides Archimedis was born in 287 BC. We also know that Archimedes died in 212 BC at the age of 75 in Syracuse. It is said that a Roman soldier, who was offended by Achimedes, while the Romans seized Syracuse, killed him. Archimedes had a wide variety of interests, which included encompassing, statistics, hydrostatics, optics, astronomy, engineering, geometry, and arithmetic.
Gold Fish And The Fisherman Essay Research
Paper The Gold Fish And The Fisherman Once upon a time there was an old man named `Ko’. Ko was a fifty-year old fisherman. He liked children very much but unfortunately he and his
Pyrite Essay Research Paper Pyrite
Pyrite Essay, Research Paper Pyrite Pyrite, also known as Fools Gold is the mostcommon of the sulfide minerals. Pyrite is calledFool’s Gold because of it’s pale brass yellow colorand glistening metallic luster, but it may be told fromgold by it’s cubic, dodecahedral, and octahedralcrystals and fine grain masses.
The Caskets In The Merchant Of Venice
Essay, Research Paper In Shakespeare?s play The Merchant of Venice, the nature of man is shown on the inscriptions of the caskets. The gold casket represents what men desire, the silver casket
Ghana Essay Research Paper Ghana
Ghana Essay, Research Paper Ghana The Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, is one of many civilizations of Africa. It was a British Colony until March 6, 1957, when it became independent as the State of Ghana. In 1471, the Portuguese invaded this area and became involved in gold trade, giving the region the name, The Gold Coast.
The Scarlet Letter Colors Essay Research Paper
Essay: The Scarlet Letter-Colors Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the themes with various dramatic colors. Of the array are the colors green and gold, where green symbolizes different aspects of nature such as tranquility, security, and gloominess, whereas gold represents all that pertains to luxuriance, serenity and goodness.
Hades Essay Research Paper Hades Did you
Hades Essay, Research Paper Hades Did you know that Hades is the richest god? He could buy anything. He has a lot of gold and he could buy Mexico or better artillery for our
Hades Essay Research Paper Did you know
Hades Essay, Research Paper Did you know that Hades is the richest god? He could buy anything. He has a lot of gold and he could buy Mexico or better artillery for our country. Hades is the king of the Underworld
Iron Pyrite Essay Research Paper Iron Pyrite
Iron Pyrite Essay, Research Paper Iron Pyrite Pyrite, also known as Fools Gold is the most common of the sulfide minerals. Pyrite is called Fool’s Gold because of it’s pale brass yellow color and
Phidias Essay Research Paper Phidias
Phidias Essay, Research Paper Phidias Phidias is often considered one of the greatest ancient Greek sculpturs. As an Anthenian sculptor, he worked primarily in bronze or in gold and ivory,
Chaplin Essay Research Paper Chaplins New GemMordaunt
Chaplin Essay, Research Paper Chaplin?s New Gem Mordaunt Hall, a reporter from the New York Times, refers to Charlie Chaplin as a ?Great host of spectators.? In his review of Chaplin?s new film, ?The Gold Rush?. Not even the scorching heat could keep the public from seeing this spectacular flick. New Yorkers swarmed to the theatres to view the new film.
George Lewis Richard Essay Research Paper The
George Lewis Richard Essay, Research Paper The man who was known as Tex Rickard, was born on Jan 2, 1870 with the byname of George Lewis Rickard. He led a life of different jobs, I guess you could say he was a jack of all trades. His life, or the part of it that dealt with the gold rush, was what I would say as, short lived.
Gold In Grendel Essay Research Paper Gold
Gold In Grendel Essay, Research Paper Gold has many different uses. In John Gardner?s novel Grendel, it is used as a motif to symbolize different aspects of a character. Though it has a constant meaning throughout the novel, it also differs according to each character. Gardner uses gold as a symbol of majesty as well as protection, greed and power throughout the novel especially related to the characters of the Shaper, Hrothgar and the Dragon respectively.
Winter Gold 2002 Essay Research Paper The
Winter Gold 2002 Essay, Research Paper The life of an international athlete is hectic and can be very stressful. Just the training itself can be taxing on anyone. For instance; and athlete that is going to the Olympics, trains at least a couple years before, and returning Olympians train from the time they finish the last Olympics to the beginning of the next ones.
Alchemy Essay Research Paper Alchemy Alchemy is
Alchemy Essay, Research Paper Alchemy Alchemy is an ancient art, practiced in the Middle ages,used to discover a substance that would transmute common or base metals into gold or silver ,and to find a way of prolonging human life.The main objective of alchemy was to discover a substance called the philosopher’s stone.This stone was thought to transform common metals such as lead into silver or gold.Another objective of alchemist was to find the “elixir of life”- a potion that would cure all diseases and prolong life.
The Oucasts Of Poker Flat
– Overview Essay, Research Paper The Outcasts of Poker Flat is an excellent representation of color writing. The plot is short and rather underdeveloped, just as the characters are, which is typical of a local color story. The author portrays a rugged setting which is associated with the west during its gold-rush years, as well as stereotype the characters into ones you might expect to find in any Northern Californian settlement.
Populism Essay Research Paper The Populist platform
Populism Essay, Research Paper The Populist platform for the 1892 election called for unlimited coinage of silver and an increase in the money supply “to no less than $50 per capita.”. Here again, the farmers are wrong in the assessment of their problems. It is true that the country’s money supply was not adequate.
The Fall Of The West African Empires
Essay, Research Paper The Fall of the West African Empires Between 300 and 1600 AD three west African empires Ghana, Mali, and Sanghai came into power. The wealth of these empires came from the trading of gold and salt. These
Gold Rush Essay Research Paper Imagine yourself
Gold Rush Essay, Research Paper Imagine yourself building a sawmill and all of a sudden you see something shiny in the ground. You pick up the shiny pieces and determine that you just found gold. You go tell your foreman what just occurred. Soon, the news spreads that gold was found. Millions from all around pour into a place they had never seen before.
Gold Standard Essay Research Paper Topic The
Gold Standard Essay, Research Paper Topic: The ?Classical? Gold Standard between the period of the early 1870?s until the first world war, what was wrong with it and the collapse of the standard.
Symbolism In The Call Of The Wild
Essay, Research Paper In Jack London s book, The Call of the Wild, he symbolizes many things in the book. Buck, gold sacks, Mercedes, and others are looked on as symbolic. In this essay, you will find out what these items symbolize.
California Gold Rush Essay Research Paper It
California Gold Rush Essay, Research Paper It lasted just a decade, but the California gold rush was a gigantic adventure for a generation of fragile young men, most of them citizens of a fragile young nation. They took their name the forty-niners from the year that the gold rush began. In 1849 the East was dazzled by the news that across the continent, on land that was just given to the U.S. by Mexico, golden nuggets were lying around loose on the ground.
Gold Rush Essay Research Paper Gold RushGreedWelcome
Gold Rush Essay, Research Paper Gold Rush/Greed Welcome to Greed ladies and gentlemen here is today?s contests: Cleopatre, Jack and Rebecca. You all know how to play so let?s begin. Cleopatre what would you do with 2 million dollars?
Gold Rush Essay Research Paper The California
Gold Rush Essay, Research Paper The California Gold Rush had many effects on the American people, westward expansion, the environment, economy and Indian relations ultimately affecting the world as a whole. When John Marshall first found gold in January 1848 at Sutter’s Mill in California many people on the east coast did not believe the news.
Mining Techniques Essay Research Paper Mining TechniquesThe
Mining Techniques Essay, Research Paper Mining TechniquesThe way to discover large amounts of gold, was to have the perfect mining technique. One of the earliest techniques was panning and cradling. This method consisted of a pick, a shovel and a washing dish and people either worked by themselves, or in a small group.
General George Meade Essay Research Paper General
General George Meade Essay, Research Paper General Meade Do you know who was the general for the Second Battle of Bull Run? Everyone knows what the Second Battle of Bull Run is, but who was the general? Some people even know that the north won that battle. Most people do not know that General George Meade defeated General Lee at that battle.
Comp Of 1850 Essay Research Paper The
Comp Of 1850 Essay, Research Paper The Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five legislative enactment’s, passed by the US Congress during August and September 1850. These measures were designed
Gold Essay Research Paper Gold was discovered
Gold Essay, Research Paper Gold was discovered around 3000 BC to 1200 BC. Gold probably was found on the ground and used by prehistoric man as a tool. Highly sophisticated gold art objects and jewelry discovered by archaeologists in the Royal Tombs at Ur, in what is now Southern Iraq, date back to around 3000 BC.
Nazi Gold Essay Research Paper The Story
Nazi Gold Essay, Research Paper The Story Behind the Nazi Gold Nazi Gold: Hard currency looted from treasuries of countries occupied by the Axis powers during World War II. Ingots consisting of gold
Gold Mining Essay Research Paper Gold mining
Gold Mining Essay, Research Paper Gold mining is a rapidly growing industry, with new laws being passed each day for protection of waterways, endangered species and their habitats. New ways of extracting the gold are also being introduced.