Rapid Assembly of California
As many people poured in to California in a very small stretch of time, the state began to expand so quickly that it was rather haphazardly settles and not well organized or arranged in its early years.
-So many people came to California so rapidly that it could not be settled properly
-In most cases, tents and shacks were haphazardly assembled, as miners didn't want to waste time building houses before rushing to the mines
-Many ships came through the ports of San Francisco, depositing hopeful miners
-San Francisco would go from a bustling city to a ghost town over night, as minders poured in and then set out for the mines
-Some hopefuls who lacked success in the mines opened shops to sell supplies to other men, who needed them as California became more and more densely populated day by day.
-As Peter C. Mancall put it, "...some migrants came to California not so much to mine the gold but to mine the miners."
-As supply was low and demand high, shopkeepers were able to charge exorbitant prices for their goods
-It was several years before any banks were established, so in the early years of the gold rush, miners were responsible for protecting their own money
-Their was little legal enforcement or organization, because emigrants came much faster than an appropriately sized infrastructure could be instated
-So, while California did continue to grow in the numbers necessary to achieve "civilization" and widespread settlement, it still remained in its early years a rather disorganized and quickly constructed area
-So many people came to California so rapidly that it could not be settled properly
-In most cases, tents and shacks were haphazardly assembled, as miners didn't want to waste time building houses before rushing to the mines
-Many ships came through the ports of San Francisco, depositing hopeful miners
-San Francisco would go from a bustling city to a ghost town over night, as minders poured in and then set out for the mines
-Some hopefuls who lacked success in the mines opened shops to sell supplies to other men, who needed them as California became more and more densely populated day by day.
-As Peter C. Mancall put it, "...some migrants came to California not so much to mine the gold but to mine the miners."
-As supply was low and demand high, shopkeepers were able to charge exorbitant prices for their goods
-It was several years before any banks were established, so in the early years of the gold rush, miners were responsible for protecting their own money
-Their was little legal enforcement or organization, because emigrants came much faster than an appropriately sized infrastructure could be instated
-So, while California did continue to grow in the numbers necessary to achieve "civilization" and widespread settlement, it still remained in its early years a rather disorganized and quickly constructed area