The History Channel’s The Men Who Built America

One of the most interesting tycoons of the era was Jay Gould. As mentioned in another post, Jay appears only briefly in the first episode of the series when it tells the tale of Jay and his partner-in-crime selling watered down stock certificates to Cornelius Vanderbilt as he attempted to acquire control of the Erie Railroad. These two characters are worthy of an entire episode in the next segment of the series.

Jay Gould was considered by some to be the finest financial mind among the lot, even more so than banker J.P. Morgan. Gould partnered early on with a colorful character by the name of Jim Fisk who could as easily have been a grifter if he had not been fortunate enough to impress Gould. The two came to have a number of battles with the Commodore. Continue reading →