Black Friday (1869)

Black Friday, September 24, 1869, was a financial panic in the United States caused by two speculators' efforts to corner the gold market. It was one of several scandals that rocked the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.

During the American Civil War, the United States government issued a large amount of money that was backed by nothing but credit. After the war ended, people commonly believed that the U.S. Government would buy back the "greenbacks" with gold.

In 1869, a group of speculators, headed by Jay Gould and James Fisk, sought to profit off this by cornering the gold market. Gould and Fisk first recruited Grant's brother-in-law, a financier named Abel Corbin. They used Corbin to get close to Grant in social situations, where they would argue against government sale of gold, and Corbin would support their arguments.

Corbin convinced Grant to appoint General Daniel Butterfield as assistant treasurer of the United States. Butterfield agreed to tip the men off when the government intended to sell gold.

Grant, however, became suspicious of Corbin's sudden interest in the gold market and uncovered the plot. He then ordered the sale of $4 million in government gold.

On September 20, 1869, Gould and Fisk started hoarding gold, driving the price higher. On 24 September the premium on a gold Double Eagle (representing one ounce of gold bullion at $20) was 30 per cent higher than when Grant took office. But when the government gold hit the market, the premium plummetted within minutes. Investors scrambled to sell their holdings, and many of them, including Corbin, were ruined.

Fisk and Gould escaped financial harm. Subsequent Congressional investigation into the scandal was limited because Virginia Corbin and First Lady Julia Grant were not permitted to testify. However, Butterfield was removed from his post.

Henry Adams, who believed that President Grant had tolerated, encouraged, and perhaps even participated in corruption and swindles, attacked Grant in an 1870 article entitled,The New York Gold Conspiracy.