Etched into the mythology of California is the pivotal history of the Gold Rush, the seven-year period from 1848 to 1855 when some 300,000 fortune seekers from all corners of the globe flocked to the state in the feverish hope of striking it rich.

“The sheer scale of the Gold Rush was unprecedented in history and profoundly changed the global perception of California,” says USC Dornsife’s William Deverell, divisional dean of social sciences and co-director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

“The notion that ordinary people could come here and find gold and extraordinary wealth was revolutionary.”

As a result, California became associated with abundance and potential riches. Even after the relatively easy pickings of the Gold Rush were exhausted, the state’s pull on those seeking a better future remained undiminished.

Millions of newcomers continued to flock to California, borne on successive waves of enthusiasm. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some were persuaded by the state’s boosters who promised a better climate and improved health. Others arrived hoping to profit from the Los Angeles oil boom. Others again sought fame and glamour in Hollywood.

By the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, a new lure emerged: exciting, lucrative careers at the frontiers of technology in California’s booming aerospace industry.

Before the era of personal computing, Silicon Valley fueled its growth by supplying microchips to the aerospace industry during the Cold War. In more recent years, tech giants have attracted top engineers from around the world to California, solidifying the state’s role as a global innovation hub.

“The common thread running through this ‘perpetual Gold Rush’ is the belief that California can offer prosperity, opportunity, improved health and a better life,” says Deverell.

As time passed, people flocked to California, drawn by something else: escape and adventure, with their seductive allure of new beginnings, redemption and reinvention.

“California became known as a place where dreams might come true, where chronic illnesses are healed, ailing bank accounts flourish, and fame and prosperity become tangible; a place to slough off the old constrictions of the past and reinvent oneself,” says Deverell.

For many, the California Dream is not just about personal gain, but about creating a better future for the next generation.

“People also come to California because they believe — not necessarily that their lives will be dramatically different or that they’ll get massively rich — but that the lives of their children and their grandchildren will be better than their own. That lure of generational success remains very powerful,” Deverell says. California is never a promise, he argues. “But it always seems to be a hope — either for you, your children or your grandchildren.” —S.B.