It was was January 24, 1848 when a carpenter named James Wilson Marshall discovered golden flakes in the American River at the bottom of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Just days after his discovery, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican American War. This meant that California now belonged to the United States. At the time that Marshall had come across the gold, he was working on a water-powered sawmill under John Sutter. No matter how hard the two men tried to keep from spreading about "hitting the jackpot", word eventually got out. This is when it got CRAZY. Many people left there homes and towns in search for gold, so many jobs became available to those who stayed. In San Francisco, about three-quarters of the male population had left in search of fortune. The Gold Rush attracted people from all over America. With people from the east leaving and heading towards California, the western population grew and grew. The gold rush didn't just stay in the US. News reached all over the world. Citizens from places such as China and Peru came all the way to America in hopes to find gold. Many hardships came along with the gold rush, though. Ghost towns were created due to the many people deserting their homes, the owners of companies left to search for gold, and many people were killed for gold from greed. The conditions that the people stayed in during their search for gold weren't sanitary. Many people died from cholena and pneumonia. Also, the Native Americans in the area of the gold were exploited.Even so, the want and need for gold was so strong, that almost everyone was willing to go through these things. Some people were successful and found riches, but some came out of the California Gold Rush empty-handed.