fuckyeahlatinamericanhistory:

unhistorical:

On January 24, 1848, John Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill, marking the beginning of the California Gold Rush. However, it was not until August of 1848 that the New York Herald became the first East Coast newspaper to confirm that gold had in fact been discovered out West. Because of this delay, the first miners, the “forty-eighters”, were mostly native Californians, Latin Americans, and Chinese immigrants. 

(pictured) A handbill promising a safe, cheap direct New York - California steamship route. 

At the time of the California Gold Rush, there was no transcontinental railroad yet and no real safe, easy way to transverse the entire span of the continental United States to go from the East Coast, where most Americans lived, to the West Coast, most of which had recently been acquired from Mexico during the Mexican-American War. Although overland routes did exist, a significant number of Americans who went to California during the Gold Rush wound up traveling by ship, either going around the southern tip of South America (which took several months) or cutting through Central America (a much shorter alternative). 

1 month ago  /  20 notes  /  Source: unhistorical