In this first comprehensive history of the Gold Rush, Malcolm J. Rohrbough demonstrates that the consequences of the California Gold Rush spread outward in ever widening circles to touch the lives of families and communities everywhere in the United States. Through extensive research in diaries, letters, and other archival sources, he uncovers the personal dilemmas and confusion that the Gold Rush brought.

For those who joined the 49ers, the decision to go raised questions about marital obligations and family responsibilities. For those who remained on the farm or in the shop - particularly for the women, whose experiences of being left behind have largely been ignored until now - the absences of tens of thousands of men over a period of years had a profound impact, reshaping a thousand communities across the breadth of the American nation.