Before Gold was discovered in 1848 by James Marshall, around 5,000 people per year were drifting west across the Great Plains. However with the discovery this increased tenfold by the following year.
The 50,000 miners were hunting for their fortunes in California –many found one. The first miners – the ‘49ers – proved that large numbers of settlers could travel and live in the west. The paths and routes they used were easily found by later families who travelled west. By 1850 California was a US state. The 1848 Goldrush speeded up the settling of the west by Americans.