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HANOI UNIVERSITY

English Department

Compare and Contrast: Impacts of Gold

Rush on California, the United States and

Victoria, Australia

Lecturer: Nguyen Hong GiangStudents: Nguyen Thi Anh

Nguyen Duc HaiDao Bui Dieu Minh

Class: 2A09

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Hanoi, 3rd November, 2011Contents

Contents 1

Introduction 2

Body 2

Impacts on politics 2

Impacts on society 5

Impacts on economy 6

Conclusion 9

References 10

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I. Introduction

The influence of gold has posed significant effects on all the humans life since the dawn

of history. Many people have turned intoxicated, obsessed, haunted, humbled and exalted

(Bernstein, 2004, p. 7) over that piece of metal because of its value and power. The 19th century

witnessed multiple gold fevers as people from all walks of life went all over the world in search

of gold. Major gold rushes happened in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United

States, however, amongst many countries, Australia and The United States were wielded the

most by the gold rushes influence in various aspects such as politics, society and economy. The

discovery of gold and its impacts in those two countries shared both some similarities and

several significant differences. In fact, to have a greater insight into the impacts of this period is

very important. Therefore, the aim of this research paper is to compare and contrast the impacts

of two outstanding gold rushes including California Gold Rush and Victoria Gold Rush on the

politic, social and economic developments of the two states, California and Victoria, as well as

the development of the two nations, the United States and Australia. Hence, the key role of the

19th Gold Rushes could be assessed.

II. Body

1. Impacts on politics

First and foremost, Gold Rush created radical impacts on political movements in both

California and Victoria. These two places shared some points of interesting similarity in the

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areas of statehood and injustice towards miners. In reality, the discovery of gold in California

capped the most dramatic period of expansion in American history. During 1846-1850, it was

administered by American military underJames K. Polk's "Manifest Destiny" presidency.

Afterwards, in 1850, California applied for the statehood. In spite of its southerly latitude,

California's application to join the USA as a free state threatened to upset the delicate sectional

balance in the Senate, and proslavery politicians demanded a certain number of concessions from

their Northern colleagues in order to agree with California's statehood ("California Gold Rush,"

n.d.). After all, the Compromise of 1850 created a free California but enforced a Fugitive Slave

Law that inflamed antislavery opinion in the North, beginning the decade-long descent from

sectional crisis to the Civil War("California Gold Rush," n.d.). With the same purpose, in

Australia, Victoria also fighted for demanding a free state. At first, Australias demand for a self

government was ignored by Britain. However, in 1850 the New South Wales Legislative

Council had a debate on the 'Victorian Electoral Districts Bill', deciding on the electoral

franchise for the new colony, and the Victorian representatives most notably William

Westgarth tried in vain for the Chartist points of equal electoral districts and vote by ballot

(Sunter & William, 2007). On 1 July 1851, the new colony of Victoria came into existence, and

writs were issued for the election of its first Legislative Council, modelled on the New South

Wales Council (Sunter & William, 2007).

As regards the equal rights, these two states also had something in common. In 1850,

approximately 1000 black residents including African American, Spanish, and so on lived in

California ("California Cultures," n.d.). At this time, while many former slaves gained their

freedom, lack of government oversight allowed slavery to prosper in certain regions. A fugitive

slave law passed in 1852 made it illegal for slaves to flee their masters within California's

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jp11.htmlhttp://www.shmoop.com/intro/history/us/manifest-destiny-mexican-american-war.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.htmlhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/fugitive.htmhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/fugitive.htmhttp://www.shmoop.com/intro/history/us/the-civil-war.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jp11.htmlhttp://www.shmoop.com/intro/history/us/manifest-destiny-mexican-american-war.htmlhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.htmlhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/fugitive.htmhttp://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/fugitive.htmhttp://www.shmoop.com/intro/history/us/the-civil-war.html

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supposedly free borders. All African Americans in California born free or formerly enslaved

lived under a constant threat of arrest ("California Cultures," n.d.). Moreover, during the mid-

19th century, even "free" African Americans in California were banned from testifying in court

or sending their children to public schools. Meanwhile, in Victoria, injustice and racism also

happened to the diggers, especially Chinese ones. The appearance of Chinese, their habits, their

methods of mining gold and their religion all made them the target of a great deal of racism and

prejudice. Thus, in an attempt to limit the number of Chinese at the goldfields, in 1885 the

government passed a law that any Chinese person entering Victoria would pay ten pounds tax,

and one pound for protection fee, the right to mine and live in the colony; while people from

other countries did not have to pay this tax ("Chinese at the Australian Goldfields," n.d.).

Besides, in 1854, a naval man Sir Charles Hotham chose to ignore even his Executive Council,

and governed the colony personally. He ordered that the diggers had to pay their licenses, and

ordered his police and military to conduct regular inspections at the point of a bayonet. In

general, these prejudices led to many protests and changed the political climate in these two

states dramatically (Sunter & William, 2007).

2. Impacts on society

Secondly, the two Gold Rushes exerted powerful effects on the society of the US and

Australia. Following the call of gold, people from around the world rushed to California and

Victoria, leading to population booms. Statistically, the population soared constantly after the

discovery of gold. Before the gold rush, the quantity of residents living in San Francisco, a city

in California, was just less than 1,000 but after a few years, this number had increased 5,000

times to approximately 50,000 (Riveria, 1970). Correspondingly, Victorias population also

experienced a boom. In 1851, the population stood at mere 80,000 while ten years later, half a

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million people lived in that state (West & Murphy, 2010). In addition, the immigrants not only

escalated directly the population but also contributed to high marriage rate and birth rate of the

two areas. Due to population explosion, the price for food, accommodation also increased

considerably. In Melbourne, after 4 years, it was described that price of bread was double,

butter trebled and eggs sextupled (Blainey, 2006, p. 40), which could cost more than a days

wages of a goldrusher (West & Murphy, 2010). Furthermore, land price was a burden to

prospectors. Land that had been offered for $16 in 1847 then skyrocketed to $45,000 just 18

months later in California (Riveria, 1970).

Additionally, immigrants from different continents brought multiculturalism to the

goldfields. While California welcomed the most residence from The United Kingdom, Mexico

and Spain (Meier, 2005);.together with British and Irish miners, Australian gold rush attracted

people from France, Germany, Italy, Americas and China (West & Murphy, 2010). The

Californians and Victorians not only maintained their own religions and beliefs but blended with

other races to create a cultural diversity. However, this was not always a good thing. Social

conflicts and racial intolerance started to happen amongst goldrushers and between goldrushers

and the natives. In California, conflicts occurred mainly between the immigrants and the natives.

Also, the increasing number of mines led to the destruction of environment. In actual facts, trees

were chopped off for fuels and housing; water was contaminated and diseases stroke Indian

tribes harshly (Britzker, 1998). The Indians, then, retaliated by locomoting from the invaders or

stealing food and materials from wagons. Meanwhile in Victoria, the racism at first aimed at

Chinese diggers but then spread out to other ethnic group who did not speak English (Jamrozik,

Boland & Urquhart, 1995)).

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Additionally, the wealth of the gold rush and population increase resulted in the

improvement of the infrastructure, especially transportation system. Concerning California,

before the gold rush, this was a remote and isolated area. Fortunately, the need of transporting

gold was the incentives for creating a fast system including roads, bridges, ferries, and shipyards

such as Sacramento Valley Railroad, California, United States, not to mention that many

foundries, factories, wharves were also built (Bethel, 1999). In the case of Victoria, the first

steam railway connecting Melbourne and Port Melbourne was built in 1854, which not only

opened up the interior but also boosted farming (Crowson, 2009). Moreover, the Victorian

Government even spent 520,000 on roads. Obviously, the two Gold Rushes had made complete

changes in the society of California and Victoria.

3. Impacts on economy

Thirdly, the two gold rushes including California Gold Rush in United States and

Victoria Gold Rush in Australia had significant impacts on the economic development of both

countries. One important influence was the increase of the labour force in the Gold Rush time.

As being mentioned in the social impact section, the Gold Rush had led to population booms in

both states. These booms, then in - turn, had added a great number of labourers to the labour

market of both California and Victoria.. Admittedly, the number of workers in both countries had

experienced a rapid rise. In actual facts, the California Gold Rush brought a flood of workers

to this state and played and important role in integrating California economy into that of the

eastern United States (Whaples, 2008, p.1). Likewise, the workers were drawn to the Australian

gold states and particularly Victoria because of not only the gold but also the growing service

industry in the state. The workforce growth in California and Victoria contributed substantially

to the development of many economic sectors of the two states as well as of the two countries.

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Another economic impact of gold rush on United States and Australia was the

development of the mining industry. In both countries, the Gold Rush seemed to support the

growth of this economic field. The gold and mining industry attracted most workers in both

California and Victoria. In California, the demand for workforce in the goldfields of this state

was considered the highest one in the world. In 1850, among every 1,000 people in the state,

there were 624 miners (Whapler, 2008). However, the development of mining methods in two

gold rushes was diverse. In California Gold Rush, at first, the gold was in placer deposits of

pure gold mixed with sand and gravel. The method used to recover the gold was by agitating

water and debris in a pan. Since the deposits had depleted, people turned their attention to lode

mining. The lode mining required further investment and the advance in mining methods. In fact,

such new technologies as compressed-air drills and chemical processes, especially the cyanide

process, allowed recovery of gold from low-grade ores (Whaples, 2008). By contrast, due to

the fact that the investment for mining was little and the labour was plenty, the only form of

mining implemented in the Australian gold rush that time was the surface alluvial mining

(Battellino, 2010). Despite the unlikeness in mining methods, the profit that this industry earned

in both California and Victoria were enormous in the same degree. Statistically, from 1848-1857,

the annual production of gold in California averaged 76 tons. Additionally, during 1850s the

production of gold in this state was $550 million which accounted for 1.8% of American GDP

(Whaples, 2008, p. 2). In the case of Victoria gold industry, the production of this metal reached

the number of 1,000 tons in 1850s. Particularly, at its peak of 1852, mining comprised about

35% of GDP (Battellino, 2010, p.3). These figures implied that the Gold Rush had tremendous

effects on the mining industry and brought in great profits for the two nations.

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Also, the discovery of gold in California and Victoria had caused the commerce, business

boom in both states as the demand of the miners was not only for food but also for other supplies

for living.

Nevertheless, the Gold Rush in United States and Australia seemed to have quite opposite

influence on the agricultural sector. The attraction of the instant wealth had resulted in the

increase in workforce, especially miners, in both nations. Unlike the Australian who turned to the

mining industry to look for gold and neglected the development of the agriculture, the American,

specifically the Californian farmers did respond the demand of mining workers for food and thus

developed this economic sector. When the Californian farmers and the American agriculture

took the chance and increased the production of agricultural products like wheat and such

specialty crops as oranges and lemons, the wheat production in Victoria plumped almost 75%

for the first two years of the gold rush period (West & Murphy, 2010, p. 62). The reduction in

production of not only wheat but also sheep and cattle had threatened the Australian with a

mass starvation (West & Murphy, 2010, p. 62).

III. Conclusion

In brief, this study draws an overview of the impacts of Gold Rush in California and

Victoria. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the changes in politics, society and

economy that the Gold Rush created in two places. Through the research, it can be concluded

that California and Victoria shared some common things in politics including statehood and

injustice towards miners. Besides, the two Gold Rushes had important effects on the society of

the US and Australia. Moreover, these Gold Rushes made a lot of dramatic changes affecting

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directly to the development of economy in these areas. Although the Gold Rush had been an

important motivation of the development of the two states as well as the two countries, it was a

component that formed the injustice for a period of time.

Wordcount: 2172

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