Title: How did mining affect the development of the American West ? - eNotes.com
Headings: Literature of the California Gold Rush
Literature of the California Gold Rush
How did mining affect the development of the American West ?
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Mining, particularly for gold and silver, is responsible for one of the largest transfers of population from the eastern to the western parts of what became the United States. In addition to mining, the great migration of settlers from the east to west, in what was then called in the mid-19thC the "Oregon Territory," brought tens of thousands of American families to the western territories. Until the mid-19thC., the western territories (that is, west of Missouri) were relatively sparsely populated by Europeans, mostly by small groups of hunters who were following the beaver-skin trade, which, at the time, was the most profitable "business" in the western territories. There were settlers west of Missouri in very small numbers, but hostile relations with the indigenous peoples discouraged large-scale migration into what were then mostly Indian-occupied lands. In 1849, however, with the discovery of gold at Sutter's Fort just outside what is now Sacramento, California, the true westward migration began. Over the course of about ten years, more than 100,000 people began the trek to the California gold fields, and following those people were families and, more important, all of the infrastructure necessary to support the both the mining industry and the development of commerce in several states, including Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. Each of these states, at one time or another, had significant mining activity from the mid to the late 19thC and beyond. After the California Gold Rush played itself out in the 1850's, intensive mining activity--and all the commerce and social systems needed to support it--continued to develop especially in Nevada and Colorado, which also saw the beginning of extensive railroad systems to carry people and goods to the western territories on a cost-effective and relatively quick basis from the east. Many of the west's major cities--San Francisco and Denver, in particular--are the direct result of mining activity in California and Colorado.