America’s Black Monday

All photos: Wikipedia.org

Black Friday: September 24, 1869 – The New York Gold Exchange Crashes

James Fisk and Jay Gould were partners in a scandal that brought ruin to the gold market in 1869.  During the American Civil War, President Ulysses S. Grant had issued “greenbacks” (paper money), on credit only.  When the war was over the holders expected the government to buy the “greenbacks” back with gold.  Fisk and Gould want to profit from this situation and set out to conquer the  New York Gold Exchange.  The trick was to convince President Ulysses S. Grant not to sale gold.  President Grant’s newly appointed assistant Treasurer, Daniel Butterfield, partnered with Fisk and Gould in the scam.   He alerted the two men when the government was going to sell its gold.  They would then purchased large amounts of gold causing its price to rise and stocks value decrease.  On September 20, Fisk and Gould purchased massive amounts of gold and the price rose significantly.  On September 24, The government sold $4 million in gold. Unfortunately, by the time the government’s gold hit the market, within minutes, the value plummeted.  Many investors, unable to sell their shares, were ruined.  Fisk and Gould did not suffer any major loses.  Butterfield resigned because it was believed that he was connected to this scandal.  Even though his wife knew this to be true she was not allowed to testify.

The Roaring Twenties (The Jazz Age): The Decade Before the Stock Market Crashed in 1929

This decade was bountiful. It was the decade of wealth, fun, folly, and warnings that the market had probably reached its plateau.  Unfortunately, because of the bull market, no one heeded the advice or warnings of Irving Fisher, an American economist.  So, on “Black Thursday” October 24, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange started to collapse. That was also the beginning of The Great Depression.