In other words, the discovery of gold
offered California as the blank of a mint to receive the impress of a
brand new civilization. And furthermore it gave to these men and,
through them, to the world an impressive lesson that social
responsibility can be evaded for a time, to be sure, but only for a
time; and that at the last it must be taken up and the arrears must be
paid.
CHAPTER IV
GOLD
The discovery of gold--made, as everyone knows, by James Marshall, a
foreman of Sutter's, engaged in building a sawmill for the Captain--came
at a psychological time.[4]The Mexican War was just over and the
adventurous spirits, unwilling to settle down, were looking for new
excitement. Furthermore, the hard times of the Forties had blanketed the
East with mortgages. Many sober communities were ready, deliberately and
without excitement, to send their young men westward in the hope of
finding a way out of their financial difficulties. The Oregon question,
as has been already indicated, had aroused patriotism to such an extent
that westward migration had become a sort of mental contagion.
[4: January 24, 1848, is the date usually given.]
It took some time for the first discoveries to leak out, and to be
believed after they had gained currency.
Pages:
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60