The California Gold Rush
was a place where people could make or lose money. In order to survive,
miners would have to spend money for food. A miner could find gold and
strike it rich, but if a miner wanted to stay and mine, he would still
have to spend money on supplies. Miners would also gamble and make or
lose money. They could find two wild animals, make them fight each
other, and bet on who would win with gold. If the animal they bet on
won, they would get money from the miners who bet wrong, but if he bet
wrong, he would have to give up money to the miners who won. They would
also play card games and bet on various things. They would again have
to pay money if lost, but they would get money if they won the
bet.
Since there were 10 times as many people in California after the beginning of the California Gold Rush, and there weren’t enough supplies for everyone to be satisfied, the price of just about everything jumped a lot higher. One pair of boots was $100.00 back then, and $1.00 back then is about $30.00 today! One pound of coffee was $40.00 back then, a pair of overalls was $45.00, a shirt was $20.00, one pound of beans was $10.00, and one pickax was $50.00. These prices were so high because there were not a lot of things available for the miners, and it was expensive to ship it to the mining towns in California. For businesses to make money, they would have to successfully sell the supplies that people were buying. Miners could make tons of money in the California gold fields, but they would have to spend lots of money too.
Since there were 10 times as many people in California after the beginning of the California Gold Rush, and there weren’t enough supplies for everyone to be satisfied, the price of just about everything jumped a lot higher. One pair of boots was $100.00 back then, and $1.00 back then is about $30.00 today! One pound of coffee was $40.00 back then, a pair of overalls was $45.00, a shirt was $20.00, one pound of beans was $10.00, and one pickax was $50.00. These prices were so high because there were not a lot of things available for the miners, and it was expensive to ship it to the mining towns in California. For businesses to make money, they would have to successfully sell the supplies that people were buying. Miners could make tons of money in the California gold fields, but they would have to spend lots of money too.
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