Welcome to California: land of plunder and hypocrisy ^29.4%

The Guardian - By Mark Arax - 6/14/2026, 1:00 PM

Negativity Bias 28.9% - Biased Writer Voice 17.4% - Appeal to Emotion 15.6%

I was a fourth-grader in the public schools of California when I first learned about the Gold Rush. I remember our teacher, Mrs Dyer, passing down the story in the manner of lore. On the morning of 24 January 1848, James Marshall, a New Jersey boy come west, stumbled upon four shiny nuggets alongside the American River. He tried to keep... more