1. In 1828, the Georgia Gold Rush officially began when a 12-year-old boy, who was hunting for game, discovered large gold nuggets in Lumpkin County. This led to a surge in people coming to Georgia to search for gold and the growth of cities such as Dahlonega.

2. On December 3, 1829, Governor George Gilmer signed a law prohibiting the teaching of slaves in Georgia. This law made it illegal for anyone to teach a slave to read or write, reinforcing the idea that slave owners wanted to keep their slaves uneducated and unable to read the Bible or other literature on their own.

3. In 1831, the Creek Indian Treaty of Cusseta was signed on December 3, ending the Creek Indian War and the forced removal of the Creek people from Georgia. This treaty allowed the Creek people to remain in Georgia, but most were eventually removed to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) in the 1830s under the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

4. On December 3, 1861, the Battle of Coffeeville took place during the American Civil War. Confederate forces under General Earl Van Dorn attacked Union forces under General Grenville Dodge in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, but were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to push the Union army back.

5. The Georgia Guidestones, a mysterious granite monument with ten guidelines inscribed on it, were unveiled on December 3, 1980, in Elbert County, Georgia. The identity of the person or group who commissioned the Guidestones remains unknown, but the monument has been the subject of conspiracy theories and controversy ever since.