By 1895, following the Panic of 1893 that left one-third of American railroad mileage in receivership, J.P. Morgan had systematically reorganized the nation’s major railroads through a process known as ‘Morganization,’ consolidating competing lines into regional monopolies under …
J.P. MorganJ.P. Morgan & CompanySouthern RailwayErie RailroadNorthern Pacific Railroadbanking-consolidationrailroad-consolidationcorporate-powergilded-agefinancial-control
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 GouldJames FiskDaniel DrewCornelius VanderbiltErie Railroad+2 morecorporate-fraudstock-manipulationpolitical-corruptiongilded-agerailroad-consolidation
In 1867, Cornelius Vanderbilt gained control of the New York Central Railroad after driving down its stock price, then combined it with his New York and Harlem Railroad and Hudson River Railroad to create one of the first giant railroad consolidations in American history. Vanderbilt had entered the …
Cornelius VanderbiltNew York Central RailroadHudson River RailroadHarlem Railroadrailroad-consolidationcorporate-powergilded-agemonopolyinfrastructure-capture