Gold Fever, Article Review Example

In 1849, people all around the world caught the “Gold Fever”. After newspapers reported that large pieces of gold had been found in California, many left behind their families and properties to seek quick riches. The article calls these people forty-niners, or gamblers: indeed, they moved to California without any guarantee that they would find at least one morsel of gold.

The author (Holliday, 1998) describes the cities created by the settlers as lawless, unorganized, and cruel. Even shelter was scarce, not to mention food, equipment, and money.

One had to rely on their luck to pay extraordinary prices for food, shelter, building materials, and tools. As the newly formed communities were not organized, and there were no leaders involved in the building operation, nothing had a set price, just like there were no rules for miners. Accidents were common, and without basic health care, many miners died. Mines were extremely dangerous, and a large number of settlers never left the land of promises to see their family again.

People who left their homeland to try their luck in California had to turn their backs to European traditions, order, values, and often endangered their lives. Taking risks in order to gain riches was more important for people than their own safety. When fires broke out in San Francisco, merchants (those who surely profited from the gold rush) offered a bucket of water for one dollar. The result was that most of the buildings were destroyed. As the residents of the area were too preoccupied with seeking wealth, nobody helped to arrest the flames. The cites built around goldmines were, indeed, lacking community spirit, and people looked at each other as enemies, instead of fellow fortune-seekers. Since 1949, a lot has changed in California, and the values of humanity have been restored after the Gold Rush was over.

Holliday, J. S. (1998) Gold Fever! The Quest for California’s Riches. Humanities, Jan/Feb 1998, Vol. 19, Issue 1. pp. 12-17.