August 16, 2026

130 years ago, on August 16, 1896, gold was found in the remote Yukon Territory of Canada, The creek where it was found would come to be known as Bonanza Creek, Tens of thousands of men rushed to the Yukon to seek their fortunes, Many were unprepared and died, Five years earlier, when Democrat Grover Cleveland was elected president, Republicans panicked, Industrialists had become very rich and they insisted that Democrats were socialists and anarchists who wanted to destroy America, Investors pulled out of the market and out of US bonds and Cleveland took office with a financial panic in full swing, In the 1894 midterms, voters turned Congress back over to Republicans, Then Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency while Republicans stood behind pro-business lawmaker William McKinley, Republicans insisted on a gold standard worried that coining silver would decrease the value of their holdings, After McKinley won the election, poorer Americans saw little hope, and news of a gold strike on Bonanza Creek was especially attractive, While few of the miners made fortunes, and many died, the gold from the Yukon did give the economy a boost, opening another path to reform during the Progressive Era.

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