History
What is The Gold Rush?
A gold rush is a frenzied migration of people to a region after gold is discovered. The most famous, the California Gold Rush of 1848–1855, drew hundreds of thousands of 'forty-niners' west, rapidly transforming the economy and population of the American West.
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Watch a 2-minute lesson with voice + animation that explains the gold rush.
Key things to understand
- 1It's a mass migration sparked by a gold discovery.
- 2The California Gold Rush began in 1848.
- 3Hundreds of thousands sought fortune as 'forty-niners'.
- 4It rapidly reshaped the economy and settlement of the West.
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Gold Rush?
- A surge of people migrating to find gold, most famously to California starting in 1848.
- Who were the forty-niners?
- The prospectors who flooded into California in 1849 seeking gold.
- What impact did the Gold Rush have?
- It boomed California's population and economy, but also displaced Native peoples and harmed the environment.