July 3

In 1852, Congress authorized the opening of a mint in San Francisco to process the massive influx of gold from the California Gold Rush. The San Francisco Mint became only the second federal mint in the United States, reflecting the city's explosive growth and its emergence as a financial powerhouse. By converting raw gold into standardized coins on-site, the mint anchored San Francisco's position as the economic center of the Gold Rush era and the Pacific Coast.

On July 3, 1934, San Francisco Police Department officers and hired strikebreakers forcibly relocated cargo from the paralyzed waterfront to inland warehouses blocks away. The action escalated tensions during the longshoremen's strike, a pivotal labor battle that would culminate in violence and reshape American union power. The cargo movement signaled employers' determination to break the strike and restore shipping operations.