Even before the Gold Rush craze, many people moved to California seeking a "romantic view of life, appealing more Americans who sought more than farm life and family responsibilities.” Subsequent discoveries of gold in early 1848 by James Marshall attracted many more settlers in the years to come. This led to an increase in San Francisco's population from around 500 people in 1848 to 50,000 people in 1853. The idea of ​​getting rich by finding gold definitely gave more reasons for people to come to California and the desire for a transcontinental railroad between the West and the East Coast. Meanwhile, without a train like that, many people packed their bags and headed west to find gold. This is how the Gold Rush is often described, with Americans heading from east to west in search of gold and a better life. What's usually left out of this story is all the other people who were also rushing to California, or those who were already there. This includes early arrivals from regions near the Pacific, including Hawaii, Mexico, China, Peru and Australia. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay This arrival and combination of so many different people has created issues such as tensions around race, language and culture. Basically, white landowners were in charge and they made it difficult for non-whites and non-Americans to be there. One-fifth of California's mining population was made up of Mexicans and Chinese. There was great fear that these immigrants would take over the United States. There was a general idea that Americans were entitled to all the gold. It seems that there was a desire to exclude other countries. Reading chapter 12 of The American Yawp, he explains how the Monroe Doctrine of 1823 relates to this idea. The Monroe Doctrine declares that the Western Hemisphere belongs to the United States and warns Europe to stay away from it. The reason was that the United States did not want competition. Primary sources also provide extensive information on the Pacific's involvement in the gold rush. For example, Edward Kemble writes of San Francisco in 1846 and 1847 that most Americans did not know there was gold and did not know there was gold. An individual named Captain Sutter is said to have found gold with his men. Kemble describes people passing through San Francisco without mentioning gold. There is, however, one man who shows the "first drops" of gold in his greasy purse, but Kemble describes him as a crazy and untrustworthy person. There was talk of gold being found, but there wasn't much belief. Kemble then describes a Russian steamboat with Captain Leidesdorff that arrived in San Francisco in October 1847. The passengers on this boat were panning for gold in April 1848. It is interesting to read that some of the first gold prospectors were perhaps -be Russian and not American. The primary source is the State of the Union address given by President James Polk in December 1848. In this speech, Polk confirmed the rumors of gold discoveries in California, stating that it was true. He explained that gold was one of the “spoils” of victory in the war against Mexico, and he urged Americans to move west. Polk also states that "from its position it (California) must control...China...the Pacific Islands, Mexico,"..