History Mystery

Franklin: The U.S. State That Never Was

In 1784, less than a decade after the signing of the Declaration of Independence and only a short few years after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, the U.S. state of Franklin declared its own independence. (1)(2) Rather than simple independence from the United States government, which was in its infant stage at this time […]

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History Travel

Rough and Ready: the Little California Town Which Seceded from the Union

Is there anything that quite embodies the pioneering spirit of the United States better than the Gold Rush? In 1848, gold was found in the Sacramento Valley, beginning a series of events in which hundreds of thousands of prospectors and fortune-seekers would flock to the “Wild West” over the next several years in search of […]

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