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It's December 18th. This day (or thereabouts) President Polk gave a speech in which he confirmed reports that gold had been found in the hills of California.

Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss how 1848 was a year of gold rush fever, and how Polk's speech added a major political and economic element to the speculation.

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Our team: Jacob Feldman, Researcher/Producer; Brittani Brown, Producer; Khawla Nakua, Transcripts; music by Teen Daze and Blue Dot Sessions; Audrey Mardavich is our Executive Producer at Radiotopia