Gold Rush in the Press
Emigrants were drawn to California not just from information spread by word of mouth, but also by the powerful pictures of success and opportunity depicted in newspaper articles in the late 1840s.
-Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in January, 1848
-By December that same year, the New York Herald published an article stating, "The Eldorado of the old Spaniards is discovered at last.... In every direction vessels are being prepared to carry out passengers and merchandise to California.... The mania for emigrating to California is spreading in every direction and almost puts down and suppresses the dread of cholera.... This mania or madness is only at its commencement."
-With the news of opportunity, people began to pour into California
-80,000 people emigrated in 1849 alone, earning themselves the title "Forty-Niners"
-In 1849, the New York Herald published another article about the Gold Rush, saying, “Hurrah! Here we are at last! The Land of Promise -- El Dorado of the West! Our own bright, beautiful, bountiful, beautiful California lies before us -- her lap full of riches.... Any strong, able bodied man who is willing to labor five or six hours a day in the broiling sun, can make from $10 to $20 per day for three or four months in the year.”
-Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in January, 1848
-By December that same year, the New York Herald published an article stating, "The Eldorado of the old Spaniards is discovered at last.... In every direction vessels are being prepared to carry out passengers and merchandise to California.... The mania for emigrating to California is spreading in every direction and almost puts down and suppresses the dread of cholera.... This mania or madness is only at its commencement."
-With the news of opportunity, people began to pour into California
-80,000 people emigrated in 1849 alone, earning themselves the title "Forty-Niners"
-In 1849, the New York Herald published another article about the Gold Rush, saying, “Hurrah! Here we are at last! The Land of Promise -- El Dorado of the West! Our own bright, beautiful, bountiful, beautiful California lies before us -- her lap full of riches.... Any strong, able bodied man who is willing to labor five or six hours a day in the broiling sun, can make from $10 to $20 per day for three or four months in the year.”