A Mob, a Jail, and a Martyr: Joseph Smith's Last Day
On June 27, 1844, a mob stormed the jail in Carthage, Illinois, and murdered Joseph Smith — the first American presidential candidate ever assassinated — and his brother Hyrum.
Tagged: 1840s
The Speech That Started the Gold Rush
On December 5, 1848, President James K. Polk told Congress that California's gold was real — and within a year, 100,000 fortune-seekers were racing west.