Facing the imminent sinking of the SS Central America, passengers cast thousands of dollars of gold coins and gold dust across the decks and into the sea

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The United States National Security Act of 1947 established the framework for modern American intelligence and defense agencies

President Richard Nixon resigned from the United States presidency in 1974 prior to a Senate impeachment trial

Bill Clinton concluded his 1992 presidential candidacy announcement with the slogan Make America Great Again

In 1974, Senator Howard Baker informed President Richard Nixon that Democrats held 62 Senate seats and at least five Republicans would vote for conviction

In September 1857, the SS Central America encountered a severe hurricane while traveling along the Atlantic coast toward New York City

Captain William Herndon ordered that only women and children be loaded into the lifeboats evacuating the SS Central America

Captain William Herndon perished with the SS Central America along with more than 400 passengers and crew members

On August 20, 1857, approximately 600 passengers boarded a steamship in the port of San Francisco destined for Panama

The sinking of the SS Central America in September 1857 represented the deadliest commercial maritime disaster in United States history up to that point

Following the loss of the SS Central America's gold cargo, New York banks suspended specie payments in gold and silver coins

The loss of approximately three tons of gold aboard the SS Central America triggered a severe run on New York City banks in autumn 1857

On its final voyage in September 1857, the SS Central America departed Havana, Cuba, carrying approximately 500 passengers and 100 crew members

As the SS Central America burned through coal ballast against high seas, the vessel rose higher in the water and lost paddle-wheel traction

The Panic of 1857 caused extensive American railroad insolvencies, falling grain prices, and a collapse in western land sales

On Saturday, September 12, 1857, the molasses-carrying brig Marine arrived to assist the distressed SS Central America

The financial panic following the sinking of the SS Central America was transmitted internationally via the electric telegraph network

At noon on Friday during the September 1857 hurricane, rising seawater extinguished the coal furnace fires of the SS Central America

In 1857, passengers traveling from San Francisco to New York crossed the Isthmus of Panama overland by rail before boarding a second ship

In the 1850s, the United States banking system operated without a central bank or federal regulatory agency setting interest rates

In the 1850s, commercial banks issued paper banknotes backed by physical gold reserves stored in bank vaults