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Black Friday 1869 Wall Street gold corner story
Elmo Scott Watson recounts the 1869 Black Friday gold corner led by Jay Gould and James Fisk. Gould and Fisk manipulated the market to inflate gold prices, forcing a near financial crash as President Grant faced pressure to intervene. The scheme collapsed when the treasury sold gold and stockholders faced widespread losses. Gould netted about eleven million, Fisk faced debts through repudiation, and public trust soured until the Garfield committee's findings clarified Grant's nonparticipation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Elmo Scott Watson -Eptember
Wall Street
Jay Gould
Col
James Fisk, Jr
Gould
Fisk
Jim
Robert H. Fuller
MacMillan Company
Jny Gould
Erie Railroad
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Tweed
United States Treasury
A. R. Corbin
Grant
New York
Boston
Fall
Corbin
General Butterfield
Horace Porter
Butterfield
Albert Speyers
Speyers
Fuller
President Grant
Secretary of the Treasury
Treasury
James Brown
Brown
Erie
Grand Opera House
Garfield