Throughout history, gold has been discovered several times. It was discovered not only by the Egyptians, but also by the Romans and Greeks. But never in history has there been a gold rush, because when gold was discovered, it usually belonged entirely to the rulers of nations, such as the pharaohs and kings of the time. But when gold was discovered in California, the situation changed completely. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayCalifornia being unclaimed land, people could travel west, dig it up and bag it, and the best thing about it was that they didn't even have to pay taxes on it either, so you could go home without any problems. When was this discovered, you ask? Well, on January 24, 1848, a carpenter named James Marshall discovered gold in a river in California. This would reignite the gold rush and the creation of the state of California, making America a global economic power. Finding gold in Cali was considered a big lottery, there were an unlimited amount of opportunities to go panning for gold. This made the California Gold Rush one of the most significant events of the 19th century, along with the Civil War. Over the decade, 500,000 or more people settled in California, making it one of the largest migrations the world has ever seen. This large number of people heading towards this destination had only one thing on their minds: money. Therefore, all the people who moved around were driven by the idea of ​​greed. In December 1848, President James Polk decided to make an announcement about the gold that had been discovered in the American territory of California, and which had already recently been acquired in the United States. Mexican-American War. The amount of gold found in the land was staggering and too good to be true. The idea that a person could go to this land and return with wealth captured the imagination of the locals, who then felt like they were finally able to make a choice. They could travel to California by boat, the total trip would take about 5 months, or they could cross the country via the Missouri border. At that time, there was not a single bridge, nor any school, nor any source of medical care. California, at the time, was one of the most isolated regions in the world. Many people didn't know where he was. This was relatively new territory, acquired only by the United States the previous year. It was strange that thousands of people suddenly wanted to leave their home lives and go to this unknown territory. For example, a man named William Swain was a typical middle-aged man, just like other citizens who lived in America at the time, was excited about the discovery of gold. Along with thousands of others, he would become known as the 49ers. He had just gotten married and had a daughter. He had left his family in the care of his brother George and left for California. He had high hopes of finding gold to use to invest in his farm. Newspapers across America were filled with reports that people were flocking to California. He then decided he had to go, so he felt the need to go, saying it was the right thing to do. It took several months to get from New York to Independence, Missouri. For many who came from the East, this was where the real challenge would begin. Thousands.