?1. Introduction When talking about “Gold Rushes," people may think of the chance to get incredibly wealthy and the establishment of a fast growing economic source. However, mention the Gold Rush in California and one has to bear in mind that this also entails a hard life for the miners working in icy streams trying to find small pieces of gold. Still, the California Gold Rush, which began in 1848 and lasted until 1858, impacted not only the region but also the whole country and other parts of the world, as one of the largest migrations in history took place. Therefore, the focus of this essay will be to show and to examine the case of the Gold Rush in California and its significance on life today. 2. California Gold Rush This famous historical event can be traced back to a nugget-size piece of yellow metal discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in California. The man was constructing a sawmill when he suddenly recognized something glittering in the American River that brought water to Sutter’s Mill. As a matter of fact, this discovery on this January morning in 1848 led to what is now referred to as the California Gold Rush. James W. Marshall was a carpenter working for John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant. The latter planned to gain his personal empire through agriculture. Therefore he behaves according to the common strives and work ethics of rural societies in the U.S. By being able to support their own family and living without any debts or dependencies on wage labors, people became independent, which helped build their ideological aims. Furthermore, this was the reason why Sutter intended to keep the foundation secret. However as such electrifying news cannot be hidden, there soon appeared a printed notice of the gold discovery in a San Francisco newspaper. A year later the New York Herald confirmed that there was a Gold Rush in California. In the meantime, miners found more gold in the Feather and Trinity River, located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Thousands of gold seekers and immigrants poured into California. The Gold Rush was in full swing. People hoped to make their fortunes. In addition, the discovery of gold signified a possible realization of the personal American dream: “From rags to riches” – which in turn created a pull factor that convinced (mainly) young people to work as miners. The problem people faced was: could these wis