Jim Fisk has aided Daniel Drew, who …

Years: 1868 - 1868
Jim Fisk has aided Daniel Drew, who had become treasurer of the Erie Railway, in the struggle against Cornelius Vanderbilt for control of the railroad from 1866 to 1868.

To get revenge, Vanderbilt had tried to corner Erie stock, which led to the so-called Erie War, bringing him into direct conflict with Jay Gould and Fisk, who had just joined Drew on the Erie board.

New York state law restricts the number of shares a company can issue

However, Fisk and Gould have become involved with Tammany Hall, the New York City political ring, and Boss Tweed had arranged, through bribes, for legislation that had legitimized fake Erie stock certificates that Gould and Fisk had issued in large quantities

Vanderbilt, unaware of the increase in outstanding shares, had kept buying the “watered” Erie stock and sustained heavy losses

Eventually conceding control of the railroad to the trio, Vanderbilt had lost more than seven million dollars in his failed attempt, although Gould will later return most of the money after Vanderbilt uses the leverage of a lawsuit to get his losses back

Vanderbilt and Gould become public enemies

Gould will never get the better of Vanderbilt in any other important business matter, but he will often embarrass Vanderbilt, who uncharacteristically lashes out at Gould in public

By contrast, Vanderbilt will befriend his other foes after their fights ended, including Drew

Boss Tweed, in return for his role, receives a large block of stock and is made a director of the company.

James Fisk was born in the hamlet of Pownal, Vermont, in the township of Bennington on April Fool's Day.

After a brief period in school, he had run away in 1850 and joined Van Amberg's Mammoth Circus & Menagerie.

Later, he became a hotel waiter, and finally adopted the business of his father, a peddler.

He applied what he learned in the circus to his peddling and grew his father's business.

He then became a salesman for Jordan Marsh, a Boston dry goods firm.

A failure as a salesman, he had been sent to Washington, D.C., in 1861 to sell textiles to the government.

By his shrewd dealing in army contracts during the Civil War, and, by some accounts, cotton smuggling across enemy lines—in which he had enlisted the help of his father—he had accumulated considerable wealth, which he soon lost in speculation.

In 1864, Fisk had become a stockbroker in New York, and was employed by Daniel Drew as a buyer.

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Northern North America (1868 - 1868)
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Northeastern North America (1868 - 1868)

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