| Description |
xv, 353 pages, 14 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm |
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text txt rdacontent |
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unmediated n rdamedia |
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volume nc rdacarrier |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 309-346) and index. |
| Contents |
California's golden revolution : enormous wealth and great confusion -- Gold fever : the beginning -- "This is a hard thing, this breaking up of families" : gold and its personal costs -- Journey and arrival : coming to California, coming to terms -- Old bonds and new allegiances : "Me and John stick together like wood ticks" -- The scarcity of women : "I have not spoken to a lady for five months" -- "I could sell some of the furniture" : adjustments in the East -- Occupations : The 49ers begin work -- "The real argonauts of '49" : life and leisure in the gold fields -- The urban 49ers : "A very good chance to make money in this city" -- Women in the California gold rush : duty, adventure, and opportunity -- Harsh realities : hard luck and hard labor in the gold fields -- "Capitalists will take hold" : high-stakes investments and deferred returns -- Threats from within, threats from without : fear, hostility and violence in the gold rush -- Waiting : a permanent condition -- Lost love, lost families -- The permanent lure of success, the enduring shame of failure : "When a person gits [sic] to California it is hard to say or tell when he gets away" -- The ripples subside : the end of the gold rush -- "The days of old, the days of gold, the days of forty-nine" : the gold rush and memory. |
| Summary |
In this first comprehensive history of the Gold Rush, Malcolm J. Rohrbough demonstrates that the consequences of the California Gold Rush spread outward in ever widening circles to touch the lives of families and communities everywhere in the United States. Through extensive research in diaries, letters, and other archival sources, he uncovers the personal dilemmas and confusion that the Gold Rush brought. For those who joined the 49ers, the decision to go raised questions about marital obligations and family responsibilities. For those who remained on the farm or in the shop - particularly for the women, whose experiences of being left behind have largely been ignored until now - the absences of tens of thousands of men over a period of years had a profound impact, reshaping a thousand communities across the breadth of the American nation. |
| Subject |
California -- Gold discoveries.
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Gold mines and mining. (OCoLC)fst00944469
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California. (OCoLC)fst01204928
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| ISBN |
0520206223 (alk. paper) |
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9780520206229 (alk. paper) |
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