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'Official' report of the gold discovery in California...
'Official' report of the gold discovery in California...
Item # 705603
December 07, 1848
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCER, Washington, D.C., Dec. 7, 1848
* Gold discovered in California
* Official government report
* Pre 49ers- Forty-Niners
Beginning on the front page and taking all of page 2 and most of page 3 is the: "President's Annual Message" to the nation, in which is a rather lengthy & detailed report on the discovery of gold in California.
Although there were earlier newspaper reports of gold discovery, this was the first "official" announcement by the government and did much to cause many to head west and be among the "49ers" who would create the great gold rush in the subsequent months & years.
At one point on page 2, the address notes: "...The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory [California] are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by the authentic reports of officers in the public service who have visited the mineral district & derived the facts which they detail from person observation..." with so much more (see for portions). Great to have this report in this famous newspaper from the nation's capital.
Page 3 has a report headed: "A Rival Gold Region" concerning gold discovery in Texas.
Four pages, archivally strengthened at the blank spine, nice condition.
background: On December 5, 1848, President James K. Polk delivered his annual message to Congress, and one of its most memorable sections announced and confirmed the discovery of gold in California, giving the first official federal acknowledgment of the astonishing reports coming from the Pacific. Polk described how reliable military officers—including Col. Richard Mason—had verified that abundant gold deposits had been found across the Sierra foothills, and he emphasized that ordinary laborers were suddenly earning extraordinary sums by extracting gold from riverbeds with the simplest tools. Polk argued that this discovery would rapidly accelerate settlement, commerce, and the economic transformation of the region recently acquired from Mexico, essentially validating the idea that California would become a major American hub. His message, widely printed in newspapers, helped trigger a nationwide surge of excitement and directly fueled the Gold Rush migration of 1849.
Category: Pre-Civil War
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$320.00
