why is the gold rush a fundamental period in the history of the united states.
The expression is dreamy. The Gold Rush (1848-1856), an integral part of American history, fueled many children's stories and profoundly transformed the United States. But what does the gold rush really represent for the United States?
What is the first gold rush?
To understand, we have to go back to January 24, 1848, when carpenter James Marshall discovered a gold nugget in a California river. The existence of the precious metal is spreading like wildfire. Word of mouth is effective: in a few years, more than 80,0000 adventurers, half of whom come from abroad (Chinese, Europeans), flock to America. They are called "gold diggers". Ironically, the precursor was chased from his land and never profited from his discovery.
A few months after the discovery of the first nugget, the press got involved: on August 19, 1848, the New York Herald (a New York newspaper published until 1924) mentioned the Californian phenomenon for the first time. Until reaching the political sphere. On December 5, 1848, President James Knox Polk confirmed the discovery of gold in California at Sutter's Mill, near the town of Coloma, during a message to the United States Congress. It triggers the "Gold rush" of 1849. Gradually, the face of California changes under demographic pressure: very sparsely populated, the region develops and gains state status. in 1850.
The gold rush, the beginning of a strong national identity
Who are these pioneers leaving for San Francisco by boat? We can observe a great mix in terms of national origins (Chinese, Europeans, Americans from the East) and social classes, although to a lesser extent, the bourgeoisie. The majority of prospectors were men. "At that time, it was customary to say that when a farmer in the Midwest earned 1 dollar a day, a prospector earned 16," recalls Pascale Smorag, lecturer at the University of Franche-Comté, in Besançon, where it teaches American civilization. The California Gold Rush projected a new image, as ordinary mortals discovered the possibility of being able to seek and keep for themselves whatever they found.
This Californian epic, which will become national, confirms the idea that the United States has an exceptional destiny. "California is undergoing a tidal wave, but it is America as a whole that is growing wings", comments the researcher, adding that the American nation, convinced of being placed under "divine protection", feels invested with a mission: to spread democracy throughout the continent. It was during this period that the Americans will know "the deployment of their conquering ideology", in defiance of the Amerindian nations. This conviction of having an extraordinary destiny gave America a strong national identity.
⋙ The Transcontinental, the railroad that made America
The Gold Rush, "A Manifest Destiny"
So much so that John O'Sullivan, a very committed journalist, popularized the expression "Manifest Destiny" in 1845 when he urged the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. The intellectual wishes to highlight the "divine right" character of colonization towards the West, by populations mainly of European origin and the United States government. The timing of the discovery of gold also maintains this legend. "While the Americans discover the gold of the Sierra Nevada on January 28, 1848, the war against Mexico ends on February 2, 1848, thus depriving Mexico of this manna and accrediting that it returns to the United States, nation 'inspired', to take advantage of it", underlines Pascale Smorag.
Another lasting consequence, the gold rush plunged the United States into the era of consumerism. "Before the 1850s, the Puritan mentality of the northeastern states, which would prevail throughout the United States, was that by working hard, families could save money and thus protect themselves from blows. fate", adds the researcher. Spending it was otherwise considered a pleasure reserved for devotees of Satan. This mentality changes: if some put money aside in the various banks that bloom in the prospecting fields to buy fertile land in Orange County (southern California), others decide to squander it all. To chase away boredom, the solitary men gone to seek Californian gold squander their winnings in the saloon, where "gossip girls" welcome them ready to recover, in turn, part of the money from prospecting.