{"product_id":"the-age-of-gold-the-california-gold-rush-and-the-new-american-dream-9780385502160","title":"The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream","description":"\u003cp\u003eBy the Author of the Bestselling Pulitzer Prize Finalist THE FIRST AMERICAN  THEY WENT WEST TO CHANGE THEIR LIVES AND IN THE BARGAIN THEY CHANGED THE WORLD. THIS IS THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE GOLD RUSH.  When gold was first discovered on the American River above Sutters Fort in January 1848  California was sparsely populated frontier territory not yet ceded to the United States from Mexixo. The discovery triggered a massive influx as hundreds of thousands of people scrambled to California in search of riches  braving dangerous journeys across the Pacific  around Cape Horn  and through the Isthmus of Panama  as well as across Americas vast  unsettled wilderness. Cities sprang up overnight  in response to the demand for supplies and services of all kinds. By 1850  California had become a state -- the fastest journey to statehood in U.S. history. It had also become a symbol of what America stood for and of where it was going.  In The Age of Gold  H. W. Brands explores the far-reaching implications of this pivotal point in U.S. history  weaving the politics of the times with the gripping stories of individuals that displays both the best and the worse of the American character. He discusses the national issues that exploded around the ratification of Californias statehood  hastening the clouds that would lead to the Civil War. He tells the stories of the great fortunes made by such memorable figures as John and Jessie Fremont  Leland Stanford and George Hearst -- and of great fortunes lost by hundreds now forgotten by history. And he reveals the profound effect of the Gold Rush on the way Americans viewed their destinies  as the Puritan ethic of hard work and the gradual accumulation of worldly riches gave way to the notion of getting rich quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67598756347957,"sku":"ByrdShop_0385502168","price":27.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780385502160.jpg?v=1790931618","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-age-of-gold-the-california-gold-rush-and-the-new-american-dream-9780385502160","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}