In 1849, California turned from quiet frontier to chaos overnight. Gold fever spread fast—and everyone wanted a piece. Donald Trump suffers double legal blow in California The S&P 500 is nearly ...

An astounding amount of gold was pulled from the ground: $10 million in 1849, $41 million ($971 million in 2005 dollars) in 1850, $75 million in 1851, and $81 million in 1852.