The economic and political conditions in Europe pushed German immigrants from their homelands, while the gold rush in California pulled them with dreams of riches. Some came directly from Germany, some made an intermediate stop in the United States, but, after arriving in California, many went to Sacramento. A small nucleus of permanent residents created an ethnic community where they practiced the German tradition of Vereinswesen, supported each other economically through loans and ready employment and, led by their Turnverein, continued practicing their customs and rituals emphasizing frivolity and celebration as they had in the fatherland. Rather than assimilate, they created a dual identity of German-Sacramentan to adapt to their new home, remaining faithful to their German roots while interacting with the mainstream Anglo-Americans, influencing the native-born to adopt some of the German traditions of celebration. This study rediscovers the active German community and its impact on Sacramento neglected in earlier histories of the city
