The article discusses the extravagant and reckless lifestyle of the people in California, particularly in San Francisco, during the 19th century. It criticizes the fast-paced and luxurious living, excessive spending on unnecessary items, and the detrimental effects of trying to keep up with societal expectations of wealth and fashion. The writer blames this culture of extravagance for bankruptcies and failures in business, and highlights the negative impact on individuals and the community as a whole. The article also briefly mentions the death of Tom Thumb's father, describing Tom Thumb as a man with a childlike intellect and sordid meanness in pecuniary affairs. Additionally, it mentions the capture of a royal tiger from Sumatra that caused casualties during the operation.
Boom Town!
The article presents a vivid illustration of mid-19th century California, most likely during the California Gold Rush (1848-1855). The Gold Rush drew a diverse crowd of hopefuls from across the globe, resulting in an explosive population growth along with dramatic societal and economic changes. The narrative reads like a countenance of extravagant, reckless living, presumably fueled by the sudden influx of wealth and ambitious new residents. The quick-pace lifestyle, economic speculation, and indulgence in luxury are characteristic of boomtowns or societies during a gold rush.
The author criticises this short-term outlook and excessiveness, lamenting that “Men have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast.” Alongside the condemnation of material excess, the article raises concern about social values, suggesting an erosion of 'good society.' This statement reflects a form of class anxiety that arose in rapidly developing societies, where the traditional markers of class and respectability were upset or transformed.
The author further states, “Of all countries within civilization, this one needed less the introduction of the foolish, vain, and wicked luxuries of the east.–– We were by ourselves. We might have established a sensible society.“ Here, there is a clear disapproval towards the influence of 'Eastern' customs, indicating a certain societal tension between the 'new' Californian society and its older Eastern roots.
“Who can wonder that hard times have come, that so many have come down to the firm basis of bankruptcy? The mines have not failed, the earth is as rich and productive as ever, and nearly all the demands that make good business are really as good as five years ago.“ This passage emphasizes the artificial nature of the boomtown's 'hard times.' The physical resources remain the same, but the societal climate and market speculation have created instability.
The final tickler about Tom Thumb is a curiously unconnected point. It might hint at the variety of news being shared and delivered in a rapidly evolving society, whether that be local commentary, international news or gossip. The passage about the capture of a royal tiger also underscores the global reach of trade and transportation, and the exotic curiosities that could now be accessible, even in something as 'frontier' and new as California.
Overall, the article captures the spirit, issues, and extravagances of the California Gold Rush era that reshaped the socio-economic fabric of the state and, indeed, the nation.
Immersed in the throes of the Gold Rush, California pulsed with a kinetic frenzy. Speed powered every crest and trough of this societal wave; it shaped the way the people lived, dressed, speculated and ultimately fell. "The fastest people...have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast," the narrative recounts. This feverish lifestyle illuminates the era's undercurrent of haphazard indulgence that seeped into every crack and crevice in society.
Witnesses to swells of untamed wealth, California's population indulged in a spectacle of unregulated consumption and flaunting of riches. As the narrative reveals, both men and women rode the high tide of extravagance, venturing beyond their resources in gratifying their appetite for exuberance. This exploitative cycle held not only their fiscal solvency hostage but also gnawed at the social threads binding their communities, spurring an alarming societal decay.
As we traverse the path of economic ups and downs that California has cartwheeled through, this historical rumination looms large, casting long shadows onto the state's more recent rollercoasters - most significantly, the tech boom. The pulsating rush of yore, the relentless ambition and the blinding race for ostentatious trends echoing from the past eerily mimic the frenzy surrounding the 2000 dot-com bubble, reverberating even in today's fast-paced tech landscape.
Let's leapfrog to the present, and you'll spot familiar patterns mirroring historic narratives in Silicon Valley's evolving socio-economic landscape. The ironic resurrection of an unquenchable thirst for speed, instantaneous success, and public demonstration of wealth weaves itself seamlessly into California's relentless pursuit of innovation and its unsettling burnout culture. The incessant race for advancement amidst brewing questions of sustainability - both corporately and humanly – paints a vibrant tableau of the state's journey.
A critical quote from the past encapsulates the essence of this crisis, “Fast men with fast horses and fast wives are not the men to prove reliable merchants, trusty lawyers, safe traders..." Regrettably, these words resonate sonorously today as we grapple with Silicon Valley's relentless pace and weigh the consequences of an economic upsurge that perhaps, came too soon for its own good.
Though technology and innovation now glimmer as California's precious gold, luring international acclaim, they also repeat an age-old symphony of societal urgency and the rampant chase for riches. The state, buzzing with a burgeoning tech industry, again tastes the sting of soaring living costs and an expanding schism between the rich and the poor, a vivid reflection of the wealth disparities of the Gold Rush era.
The narrative imparts a vital perspective: the extractive toll society pays for recklessness. “When reason shall supersede vanity, good taste take place of a silly idea of what respectability and good society are, we may anticipate better times...,” the text concludes. Perhaps this contemplation of our precursors - an appeal for a balanced pursuit of progress considering societal wellbeing, fiscal steadiness, and human contentment - is the lesson we must glean most earnestly.
Through our historical exploration, this account serves as a potent reminder – a lesson in the cyclical chase for wealth, the turbulent inequalities birthed of opulent lifestyles, and the eternal yearning for a more reasoned, equitable society. Thus, California's vibrant present is forever anchored in the echoes of its extravagant past.
2. 'Modern California's economic power' - This is relevant in understanding the evolution of California's economy from the gold rush era to the modern tech boom era. For further reading and research, see this article on 'California Economy" from [Economy Watch](https://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/usa/states/california.html).
3. 'Gold Rush era in San Francisco' - This provides a significant time period for understanding the backdrop of this period. For further reading and research, see 'The Discovery of Gold in California' from [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/the-discovery-of-gold).
4. '2000 dot-com bubble' - This underlines a prominent incident in the tech era of California, greatly impacting its economy. For further reading and research, check out 'What caused the dotcom bubble to burst?' from [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3996465.stm).
5. 'Silicon Valley's evolving socio-economic landscape' - This suggests the current manifestation of the gold rush-like economic fervor in California. For further reading and research, see 'Silicon Valley' from [Stanford University](https://library.stanford.edu/silicongenesis/stanford-silicon-valley-archive).
6. 'Wealth disparities of the Gold Rush era' - This signifies the economic imbalances during the gold rush, potentially forming parallels to present-day wealth gaps. For further reading and research, see 'California Gold Rush' from [National Parks Service](https://www.nps.gov/articles/california-gold-rush.htm).
7. 'Societal wellbeing, fiscal steadiness, and human contentment' - This phrase encapsulates the balance to be achieved for a sustainable economy. For further reading and research, see 'Well-being concepts' from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/wellbeing.htm#three).
**Citation**: Trinity Journal
- NO. 4., 1856-02-16
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ University of California Riverside Digital Newspaper Archive
CALIFORNIA AND HER FOLLIES—California has been the fastest courser on the pathway of nations—San Francisco, the most furiously fast of cities. There have been the fastest people here that ever were congregated on a race course. Men have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast. Few have pulled the reins, all have used the whip and applied the spurs. In the saddle or out of it, bare backed or in sulky, on a wager or for pleasure, nothing but velocity would do. No rational joy would do for banker, merchant, lawyer, doctor or clergy. “Whew! getalong! ip-pa! go it while you’re young!" They have rented better houses and more costly, have bought finer furniture, have lived more luxuriously, squandered more in eating, drinking, and pleasures besides, than their means allowed or the state of the country rendered necessary. The women have delighted in many expensive, worthless, unnecessary servants. Costly furniture and household ornaments at home have been their passion, costly morning dresses, costly fripperies of all kinds. They have swept the streets with costly satins, silks, velvets, et cetera, taking from their richly carpeted rooms elegant brocades and returned them after a stroll for admiration, a batch of mud, spittle and dirt. With the same style of living and luxury which many of them purchased cheaply at their former homes, their husbands would now not only be easy in their business, but in the enjoyment of a competency, instead of broken up in the one, and bankrupt in fortune. For a few months of foolish extravagance—for a few admiring gazers at their new dresses, a few envious sneers from their less fortunate or more rational acquaintances, they have bartered the business success of their husbands, the quiet of their homes, the prospects of their future. An expensive party, without a heart in it, has cost the labor and anxiety of a month, a year. A gorgeous saloon for a month has led to a shanty for years. The stupid ambition to be thought stylish by a crowd who know little of what really good society means, to be considered the ton by ignoble souls who have but one quality of respectability, viz: wealth, has ruined thousands, has driven away from us many who were desirable, has kept away many most fit to come here. To make a temporary display they have bartered present means, future prosperity and the respect of the only portion of community whose good opinion is worth having. And this not only upon their own means but that of others.— Of that frightful amount of debt which the bankrupt act has settled, how large a portion was incurred to adorn the body with brocades, hats and rich broadcloths and supply the animal appetites with luxurious living. Speculation has not been the only cause of failure here. Nor has any decrease in the value of real estate and business,–– Luxury, fashion, a diseased public, opinion, a false society, have ruined hundreds if not thousands of our citizens. Men as well as Women have thus ruined themselves and disgraced the city. Fast men with fast horses and fast wives are not the men to prove reliable merchants, trusty lawyers, safe traders and bankers To spend the means of others is not the highest honor. To live beyond one’s means is to rob him whose means are thus filched from him. Of all countries within civilization, this one needed less the introduction of the foolish, vain, and wicked luxuries of the east.–– We were by ourselves. We might have established a sensible society. But instead of that, instead of a quiet style of home life, a simple style of dress, a reasonable style of living, of house, of furniture, of life before the public, all the vanities of the rotten customs of the older cities have been introduced and doubled. And now, even a servant girl cannot walk in the streets without a fifty dollar brocade and a twenty-five dollar hat. Our ladies! who shall calculate the cost of their trimmings! Who the cost of the rig of our gentlemen! With such wretched ideas of life and its objects, of fashion and its qualities, of domestic life and its requisites; with such subserviency to the dictates of a brainless as well as heartless fashion, with such weakness and vanity which prefer to be considered fashionable to being honest and honorable, who can wonder at the ruin which has fallen upon the business and prospects, the fortune and happiness of so many among us? Who can wonder that hard times have come, that so many have come down to the firm basis of bankruptcy? The mines have not failed, the earth is as rich und productive as ever, and nearly all the demands that make good business are really as good as five years ago. What then has brought hard times and stagnant? Nothing but folly—such follies as we have hinted at being a large part of the trouble. When reason shall supersede vanity, good taste take place of a silly idea of what respectability and good society are, we may anticipate better times, less bankruptcy and more happiness.—S. F. Chronicle. Tom Thumb.—The correspondent of an Eastern paper says: ‘ Tom Thumb’s papa is dead. He went insane some months ago, and was placed in the asylum. He was subsequently released as partially restored. But his habits were immoderate, and he soon finished his destiny. He is said to be worth $l50,000. Tom Thumb and his two maiden sisters will probably come in for $30,000 each, the widow of course inheriting $50,000 for her third. It is not true that Tom is married nor expects to be. He is a mere child in intellect, although a man iu years. His mind is built on the same size of grandeur that Nature bestowed upon his body. His sisters are large, well-made women, and really handsome. The General is, therefore, a rare phenomenon. Give him his sled and bis other playthings, and he is content. Give him money, too. Don’t forget that—for he is the quintessence of sordid meanness in pecuniary affairs. However, we all have our faults.’ A COSTLY ANIMAL.—A vessel called Robert Peel, which has just arrived in the Loire, France, from Sumatra, has brought a magnificent royal tiger for one of the public menageries. Forty armed men were, it is said, sent to capture him, but he killed ten and injured thirteen of them before he could be secured.
The author criticises this short-term outlook and excessiveness, lamenting that “Men have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast.” Alongside the condemnation of material excess, the article raises concern about social values, suggesting an erosion of 'good society.' This statement reflects a form of class anxiety that arose in rapidly developing societies, where the traditional markers of class and respectability were upset or transformed.
The author further states, “Of all countries within civilization, this one needed less the introduction of the foolish, vain, and wicked luxuries of the east.–– We were by ourselves. We might have established a sensible society.“ Here, there is a clear disapproval towards the influence of 'Eastern' customs, indicating a certain societal tension between the 'new' Californian society and its older Eastern roots.
“Who can wonder that hard times have come, that so many have come down to the firm basis of bankruptcy? The mines have not failed, the earth is as rich and productive as ever, and nearly all the demands that make good business are really as good as five years ago.“ This passage emphasizes the artificial nature of the boomtown's 'hard times.' The physical resources remain the same, but the societal climate and market speculation have created instability.
The final tickler about Tom Thumb is a curiously unconnected point. It might hint at the variety of news being shared and delivered in a rapidly evolving society, whether that be local commentary, international news or gossip. The passage about the capture of a royal tiger also underscores the global reach of trade and transportation, and the exotic curiosities that could now be accessible, even in something as 'frontier' and new as California.
Overall, the article captures the spirit, issues, and extravagances of the California Gold Rush era that reshaped the socio-economic fabric of the state and, indeed, the nation.
Narrative Exposition:
The sun-bathed landscape of modern California thrums with a drive for innovation, economic power, and sculpted by the hands of a diverse population each contributing to its vibrant tapestry. Yet, beneath the state's thriving surface simmer tales of timeless greed, fiscal folly, and the torture of bursting financial bubbles, each plot thread woven into the densely patterned quilt of California's history. This post unravels the dizzying narrative of entry No. 4, revealing an ardent portrayal of San Francisco's heartbeat during the Gold Rush era, and exploring how these historical undertones resonate in today's Californian symphony.Immersed in the throes of the Gold Rush, California pulsed with a kinetic frenzy. Speed powered every crest and trough of this societal wave; it shaped the way the people lived, dressed, speculated and ultimately fell. "The fastest people...have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast," the narrative recounts. This feverish lifestyle illuminates the era's undercurrent of haphazard indulgence that seeped into every crack and crevice in society.
Witnesses to swells of untamed wealth, California's population indulged in a spectacle of unregulated consumption and flaunting of riches. As the narrative reveals, both men and women rode the high tide of extravagance, venturing beyond their resources in gratifying their appetite for exuberance. This exploitative cycle held not only their fiscal solvency hostage but also gnawed at the social threads binding their communities, spurring an alarming societal decay.
As we traverse the path of economic ups and downs that California has cartwheeled through, this historical rumination looms large, casting long shadows onto the state's more recent rollercoasters - most significantly, the tech boom. The pulsating rush of yore, the relentless ambition and the blinding race for ostentatious trends echoing from the past eerily mimic the frenzy surrounding the 2000 dot-com bubble, reverberating even in today's fast-paced tech landscape.
Let's leapfrog to the present, and you'll spot familiar patterns mirroring historic narratives in Silicon Valley's evolving socio-economic landscape. The ironic resurrection of an unquenchable thirst for speed, instantaneous success, and public demonstration of wealth weaves itself seamlessly into California's relentless pursuit of innovation and its unsettling burnout culture. The incessant race for advancement amidst brewing questions of sustainability - both corporately and humanly – paints a vibrant tableau of the state's journey.
A critical quote from the past encapsulates the essence of this crisis, “Fast men with fast horses and fast wives are not the men to prove reliable merchants, trusty lawyers, safe traders..." Regrettably, these words resonate sonorously today as we grapple with Silicon Valley's relentless pace and weigh the consequences of an economic upsurge that perhaps, came too soon for its own good.
Though technology and innovation now glimmer as California's precious gold, luring international acclaim, they also repeat an age-old symphony of societal urgency and the rampant chase for riches. The state, buzzing with a burgeoning tech industry, again tastes the sting of soaring living costs and an expanding schism between the rich and the poor, a vivid reflection of the wealth disparities of the Gold Rush era.
The narrative imparts a vital perspective: the extractive toll society pays for recklessness. “When reason shall supersede vanity, good taste take place of a silly idea of what respectability and good society are, we may anticipate better times...,” the text concludes. Perhaps this contemplation of our precursors - an appeal for a balanced pursuit of progress considering societal wellbeing, fiscal steadiness, and human contentment - is the lesson we must glean most earnestly.
Through our historical exploration, this account serves as a potent reminder – a lesson in the cyclical chase for wealth, the turbulent inequalities birthed of opulent lifestyles, and the eternal yearning for a more reasoned, equitable society. Thus, California's vibrant present is forever anchored in the echoes of its extravagant past.
Key Phrases:
1. 'California's Gold Rush Legacy' - This provides a historical context to the economic boom during the gold rush era in California. For further reading and research, see this article on 'The California Gold Rush and the '49ers' from [History](https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/gold-rush-of-1849).2. 'Modern California's economic power' - This is relevant in understanding the evolution of California's economy from the gold rush era to the modern tech boom era. For further reading and research, see this article on 'California Economy" from [Economy Watch](https://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/usa/states/california.html).
3. 'Gold Rush era in San Francisco' - This provides a significant time period for understanding the backdrop of this period. For further reading and research, see 'The Discovery of Gold in California' from [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/collections/california-first-person-narratives/articles-and-essays/early-california-history/the-discovery-of-gold).
4. '2000 dot-com bubble' - This underlines a prominent incident in the tech era of California, greatly impacting its economy. For further reading and research, check out 'What caused the dotcom bubble to burst?' from [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3996465.stm).
5. 'Silicon Valley's evolving socio-economic landscape' - This suggests the current manifestation of the gold rush-like economic fervor in California. For further reading and research, see 'Silicon Valley' from [Stanford University](https://library.stanford.edu/silicongenesis/stanford-silicon-valley-archive).
6. 'Wealth disparities of the Gold Rush era' - This signifies the economic imbalances during the gold rush, potentially forming parallels to present-day wealth gaps. For further reading and research, see 'California Gold Rush' from [National Parks Service](https://www.nps.gov/articles/california-gold-rush.htm).
7. 'Societal wellbeing, fiscal steadiness, and human contentment' - This phrase encapsulates the balance to be achieved for a sustainable economy. For further reading and research, see 'Well-being concepts' from [CDC](https://www.cdc.gov/hrqol/wellbeing.htm#three).
**Citation**: Trinity Journal
- NO. 4., 1856-02-16
https://cdnc.ucr.edu/ University of California Riverside Digital Newspaper Archive
Original Article:
CALIFORNIA AND HER FOLLIES—California has been the fastest courser on the pathway of nations—San Francisco, the most furiously fast of cities. There have been the fastest people here that ever were congregated on a race course. Men have lived fast, dressed fast, drunk fast, drove fast horses, gone in debt fast, speculated fast, failed fast, and gone to blazes fast. Few have pulled the reins, all have used the whip and applied the spurs. In the saddle or out of it, bare backed or in sulky, on a wager or for pleasure, nothing but velocity would do. No rational joy would do for banker, merchant, lawyer, doctor or clergy. “Whew! getalong! ip-pa! go it while you’re young!" They have rented better houses and more costly, have bought finer furniture, have lived more luxuriously, squandered more in eating, drinking, and pleasures besides, than their means allowed or the state of the country rendered necessary. The women have delighted in many expensive, worthless, unnecessary servants. Costly furniture and household ornaments at home have been their passion, costly morning dresses, costly fripperies of all kinds. They have swept the streets with costly satins, silks, velvets, et cetera, taking from their richly carpeted rooms elegant brocades and returned them after a stroll for admiration, a batch of mud, spittle and dirt. With the same style of living and luxury which many of them purchased cheaply at their former homes, their husbands would now not only be easy in their business, but in the enjoyment of a competency, instead of broken up in the one, and bankrupt in fortune. For a few months of foolish extravagance—for a few admiring gazers at their new dresses, a few envious sneers from their less fortunate or more rational acquaintances, they have bartered the business success of their husbands, the quiet of their homes, the prospects of their future. An expensive party, without a heart in it, has cost the labor and anxiety of a month, a year. A gorgeous saloon for a month has led to a shanty for years. The stupid ambition to be thought stylish by a crowd who know little of what really good society means, to be considered the ton by ignoble souls who have but one quality of respectability, viz: wealth, has ruined thousands, has driven away from us many who were desirable, has kept away many most fit to come here. To make a temporary display they have bartered present means, future prosperity and the respect of the only portion of community whose good opinion is worth having. And this not only upon their own means but that of others.— Of that frightful amount of debt which the bankrupt act has settled, how large a portion was incurred to adorn the body with brocades, hats and rich broadcloths and supply the animal appetites with luxurious living. Speculation has not been the only cause of failure here. Nor has any decrease in the value of real estate and business,–– Luxury, fashion, a diseased public, opinion, a false society, have ruined hundreds if not thousands of our citizens. Men as well as Women have thus ruined themselves and disgraced the city. Fast men with fast horses and fast wives are not the men to prove reliable merchants, trusty lawyers, safe traders and bankers To spend the means of others is not the highest honor. To live beyond one’s means is to rob him whose means are thus filched from him. Of all countries within civilization, this one needed less the introduction of the foolish, vain, and wicked luxuries of the east.–– We were by ourselves. We might have established a sensible society. But instead of that, instead of a quiet style of home life, a simple style of dress, a reasonable style of living, of house, of furniture, of life before the public, all the vanities of the rotten customs of the older cities have been introduced and doubled. And now, even a servant girl cannot walk in the streets without a fifty dollar brocade and a twenty-five dollar hat. Our ladies! who shall calculate the cost of their trimmings! Who the cost of the rig of our gentlemen! With such wretched ideas of life and its objects, of fashion and its qualities, of domestic life and its requisites; with such subserviency to the dictates of a brainless as well as heartless fashion, with such weakness and vanity which prefer to be considered fashionable to being honest and honorable, who can wonder at the ruin which has fallen upon the business and prospects, the fortune and happiness of so many among us? Who can wonder that hard times have come, that so many have come down to the firm basis of bankruptcy? The mines have not failed, the earth is as rich und productive as ever, and nearly all the demands that make good business are really as good as five years ago. What then has brought hard times and stagnant? Nothing but folly—such follies as we have hinted at being a large part of the trouble. When reason shall supersede vanity, good taste take place of a silly idea of what respectability and good society are, we may anticipate better times, less bankruptcy and more happiness.—S. F. Chronicle. Tom Thumb.—The correspondent of an Eastern paper says: ‘ Tom Thumb’s papa is dead. He went insane some months ago, and was placed in the asylum. He was subsequently released as partially restored. But his habits were immoderate, and he soon finished his destiny. He is said to be worth $l50,000. Tom Thumb and his two maiden sisters will probably come in for $30,000 each, the widow of course inheriting $50,000 for her third. It is not true that Tom is married nor expects to be. He is a mere child in intellect, although a man iu years. His mind is built on the same size of grandeur that Nature bestowed upon his body. His sisters are large, well-made women, and really handsome. The General is, therefore, a rare phenomenon. Give him his sled and bis other playthings, and he is content. Give him money, too. Don’t forget that—for he is the quintessence of sordid meanness in pecuniary affairs. However, we all have our faults.’ A COSTLY ANIMAL.—A vessel called Robert Peel, which has just arrived in the Loire, France, from Sumatra, has brought a magnificent royal tiger for one of the public menageries. Forty armed men were, it is said, sent to capture him, but he killed ten and injured thirteen of them before he could be secured.
