Working Paper No. 72, The 1849 Gold Rush and the Roots of California’s Economic Development

The Californian Gold Rush, commonly referred to as the “1849 Gold Rush” proved to be a major event which brought significant change to California. This inquiry seeks to establish that this 1849 Gold Rush provided a foundation for a broadly shared prosperity through contributing to the advancement of California’s industry. The first part in this inquiry goes into some detail regarding how the gold rush got initiated, would become a major event for the world. The second part explores what changes the gold rush had brought for California’s industry, economic development, and broadly shared prosperity. The third part explains more details regarding where migrants had originated and how those migrants had traveled far in order to take advantage of the opportunities brought on by the 1849 Gold Rush