Title: The Positive and Negative Impacts of the California Gold Rush of the 1849 on Westward Expansion in the United States: [Essay Example], 560 words GradesFixer
Headings: The Positive and Negative Impacts of the California Gold Rush of the 1849 on Westward Expansion in the United States
The Positive and Negative Impacts of the California Gold Rush of the 1849 on Westward Expansion in the United States
Remember: This is just a sample from a fellow student.

Content: To begin, the impact of the Californian Gold Rush on westward expansion was positive in the aspect that it caused California to be added as a state. Discovery of gold caused rapid immigration to the west, which created boomtowns such as San Francisco. Thus, rapid increase in population allowed the United States to continue to expand west by adding California as a state. As people from the east migrated west in search of gold, it allowed the development of California as a predominantly Native American-occupied, tribal, Mexican territory to a populated state of the US. Also, the discovery of gold and the increase in population led to higher demand of products and caused stimulated economies, which in turn led to the development of international trading networks and improvement in money economy. The opening of the Transcontinental Railroad a few years after the Gold Rush, which allowed people to easily travel from east to west, was financed by money of the gold rush. Therefore, the 1849 Gold Rush had a positive impact by furthering westward. However, the rapid increase in population also had its negative impact on westward expansion. Due to the large amount of people immigrating west, the amount of gold gradually started to decrease, and therefore, only a relatively small number of people managed to get rich. So, this hindered western expansion with the problem of poor local workers and farmers as the basis of society with the rich middle class on top.