<P> The Gold Rush propelled California from a sleepy , little - known backwater to a center of the global imagination and the destination of hundreds of thousands of people . The new immigrants often showed remarkable inventiveness and civic - mindedness . For example , in the midst of the Gold Rush , towns and cities were chartered , a state constitutional convention was convened , a state constitution written , elections held , and representatives sent to Washington , D.C. to negotiate the admission of California as a state . </P>
how did the california gold rush affect the growth of california
propelled California from a sleepy , little - known backwater to a center of the global imagination and the destination of hundreds of thousands of people .