How a sleepy port town of 200 became a city of 25,000 almost overnight when Samuel Brannan's famous gold announcement in 1848 sparked the California Gold Rush, forever transforming San Francisco.
Best quote from Gold Fever: San Francisco's Explosive Birth
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During a gold rush, the real winners were often the merchants selling supplies; it's the principle that the most sustainable wealth comes not from chasing the gold itself, but from providing the infrastructure and services that a boom requires.
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This audio lesson was created by a BeFreed community member
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