The California Gold Rush was a westward expansion where people went there in search of riches. In case you didn't know, that's when a group of people went to California. And that made California one of the richest states. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849)In case you are wondering who started the gold rush, it was James Wilson on January 24, 1848. He found gold nuggets. He was working on the construction of a water-powered sawmill. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849) He was also a former New Jersey carpenter. The gold nuggets he discovered were found at Sutters Mill, American River, at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near the Columbia River. On the sea voyage, one had to travel 50 miles to get to Georgia. The harsh New England climate made access to this location extremely difficult, but then gave way to warmer tropical temperatures. The ships going to California were overcrowded with people. The people on the ships were mostly men, in fact 75% of them had left their families behind to seek wealth. Until 1849, Americans, who were also mostly men, borrowed money and mortgaged their property or spent their savings to take a trip to California in search of gold like others. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849) In search of the type of wealth they never dreamed of, they left their families and hometowns and the women left behind took on new responsibilities. like running farms or businesses and taking care of their children alone without their father and working to support them. Once in California, most people had a room at the Parkers Hotel. Portsmouth Square in the middle of paper......years before the discovery of gold at Sutter's mill, the first gold rush in American history occurred after the discovery of a 17 pound gold nugget in Cabarrus County, which is in North Carolina. Eventually, more than 30,000 people in the Tar Heel State mined gold, and for more than 30 years after that, all gold coins issued by the U.S. Mint were produced from Carolina gold from the North. (http://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-california-gold-rush). The California Gold Rush was therefore arguably one of the most important events shaping American history in the first half of the 19th century. (http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849) So in 1849 the population of California was 100,000. Two billion dollars worth of precious metals have been discovered. By mid-June, 75% of the male population was heading to the gold mines and 4,000 miners were there in August..