Tells the story of the discovery of gold at John Sutter's mill, and how it changed California. Written in graphic-novel format.

John Sutter's entrance into American history began because of a rocky situation. He fled Switzerland in search of riches, leaving behind his wife and young children, because he owed people a great deal of money. After bartering his way from New York to the West Coast, Sutter started a settlement in California along the Sacramento River. The Gold Rush changed Sutter's life forever. Primary source documents and lively sidebars help tell this story of a man who made his mark on America.

When word leaks out that gold has been found on property owned by John Sutter in 1847, it changes his life and the course of American history forever.

John A. Sutter (1803-1880) could have become one of the richest men in California when gold was found on his property. Instead he lost his vast land holdings on the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and eventually left California penniless. Sutter always claimed to be the victim of charlatans, but he bore considerable responsibility for his downfall. He had amassed huge debts before the gold discovery and added even more afterward. In the rough dealings of frontier capitalism in gold rush California, Sutter was easy prey. Soon after the gold discovery, Sutter’s eldest son, John Jr., (1826-1897) arrived, but soon moved south to Mexico. Hoping to obtain compensation for the land that he and his father had lost, John, Jr., returned to California in 1855 to give his lawyer a thorough statement cataloging how both Sutters were swindled. This extensive document describes the dirty deals of the first great gold rush in the western United States. Sutter’s statement has not been available for sixty years. Editor Allan R. Ottley reproduced and annotated this statement, providing a full biographical context and offering an appendix, bibliography, and index. Albert L. Hurtado’s introduction updates the book, originally published in 1942.

"John Sutter's entrance into American history began because of a rocky situation. He fled Switzerland in search of riches, leaving behind his wife and young children, because he owed people lots of money. After bartering his way from New York to the West Coast, Sutter started a settlement in California along the Sacramento River. But the Gold Rush changed Sutter's life forever. Primary source documents and lively sidebars help tell this story of a man who made his mark on America."--Provided by publisher.

Re-examines the life of John Sutter in the context of America's rush for westward expansion in a fully documented account of the Swiss expatriate and would-be empire builder and his times.

This is a new release of the original 1932 edition.