What Were The Positive Effects Of The Gold Rush Of 1849

Having the sensation of feeling rich and being the first ones to mine gold must have been amazing. During 1849, people in California began mining gold and unlike today where small amounts were found, these people were finding huge amounts of gold. This is what eventually led to the gold rush of 1849 when the largest mass of people in history began to move into California to get some gold for themselves. Many ended up leaving everything they had to go on a journey to California to get richer. Overtime, modes of transportation increased to allow people to easily travel across America. Overall, the gold rush of 1849 had a positive effect on America because it inspired the creation of the transcontinental railroad and was the cause of the largest mass movement of people in history. …show more content…
The gold rush eventually inspired the government to expand transportation to allow people to easily travel across America. During the journey to California, men had to stop on the side of the road to dig graves for those who died, and after thousands of people died, “construction of the transcontinental railroad” finally began which eventually allowed people to sit on a train for instead of walking. Clearly, the gold rush convinced people to move west, but as many began to suffer, a railroad went into construction to allow for easier transportation across the United States. Furthermore, the gold rush provided another important reason for Manifest Destiny. As more and more people started finding gold in California, other people wanted in on the fun and riches. It could even be described as the gold fever that many people had which led to the “largest mass movement of people in world history” (Gillon 1). Consequently, the gold rush of 1849 made Manifest Destiny seem reasonable, so people moved west to find another life, a better