Jay Gould

Knights of Labor Reaches Peak Membership of 700,000 Before Rapid Collapse

1886-01-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

The Knights of Labor reaches its peak membership of over 700,000 workers (some sources report 750,000) under Grand Master Workman Terence V. Powderly, representing the largest and most inclusive labor organization in American history to that point. Founded in 1869 as a secret society and reorganized …

Terence V. Powderly Knights of Labor Jay Gould American workers labor-organizing gilded-age knights-of-labor union-membership labor-rights

Black Friday - Gould and Fisk Gold Corner Attempt Triggers Financial Panic

1869-09-24 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

On September 24, 1869—Black Friday—Jay Gould and James Fisk’s conspiracy to corner the gold market collapsed when the U.S. Treasury released $4 million in gold reserves, crashing the price from $163.50 to $133 per $100 in gold specie and triggering a financial panic that ruined hundreds of …

Jay Gould James Fisk President Ulysses S. Grant Abel Corbin U.S. Treasury financial-manipulation market-manipulation political-corruption gilded-age systematic-corruption

Erie War Escalates - Gould and Fisk Flee to Jersey with $7 Million in Watered Stock

1868-03-04 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

The Erie War reached its climax in early March 1868 when Jay Gould, James Fisk, and Daniel Drew, facing arrest warrants from Judge George Barnard after issuing $5 million in fraudulent Erie Railroad stock, fled across the Hudson River to Jersey City with $7 million in cash and watered stock …

Jay Gould James Fisk Daniel Drew Cornelius Vanderbilt Erie Railroad +2 more corporate-fraud stock-manipulation political-corruption gilded-age railroad-consolidation