1. The California Gold Rush

2. John Sutter Gold was found on his land

3. James Marshall Found gold on Sutter’s land while working for him

4. Forty-niners Thousands of Americans headed for California to mine gold in 1849

5. Boomtown Populations of small towns exploded so fast this is San Francisco

6. Chinese Immigrants Thousands of Chinese came to California to work the gold mines

7. California Statehood 1850 The population of California went from 15,000 to 250,000 in just one year, making it eligible for Statehood by 1850.