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The California Gold Rush

In Our Time

00:00

How Did California Prosper in the First Year or Two?

There are no banks yet. And so people are striking gold or those that are finding gold are doing so and they have no place to put it, except to carry it around on their persons. So consequently, vigilante justice is an extra legal way of trying to impose order as far as people are concerned. It's a very, very unstable situation. Cathy referred early to the fire that led to the building in stone. Are they saying we're going to settle that this is our place? Are they saying I've got enough? I'll go back to Ireland or whatever it was.

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