Photograph of the blackboard in the New York Gold Room, September 24, 1869, showing the collapse of the price of gold. Handwritten caption by James A. Garfield indicates it was used as evidence before the Committee of Banking & Currency during hearings in 1870.
Wikipedia - "The Black Friday gold panic of September 24, 1869 was caused by the efforts of two investors, Jay Gould and his partner James Fisk, also called the Gold Ring, to corner the gold market on the New York Gold Exchange. The scandal took place during the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, whose policy was to sell Treasury gold at weekly intervals to pay off the national debt, stabilize the dollar, and boost the economy. The country had gone through tremendous upheaval during the Civil War and was not yet fully restored. This period, known as the Gilded Age, was a time of great industrial growth which invited much investment and speculation. Abel Corbin, a small time speculator, married Virginia Grant, the younger sister of President Grant. ... A panic on Wall Street ensued and the country went through a few months of economic turmoil. Thanks to Grant's efforts, as well as of his administration, a national depression was averted. Gould and Fisk hired the best defense available. Favored by Tweed Ring judges, the conspiratorial partners escaped prosecution. An 1870 government investigation, headed by James A. Garfield, exonerated Grant of any illicit involvement in the conspiracy. ..."
Wikipedia
PBS: Black Friday, September 24, 1869
NY Times: October 16, 1869, Harper's Weekly
Panic in Gold room on Black Friday
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