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Friends,
The history of Black Friday unfolds like an American epic story-from its murky origins in 1950s Philadelphia, where police officers grimly dubbed post-Thanksgiving chaos, to today’s midnight doorbusters where shoppers camp in freezing parking lots before dawn, clutching coffee thermoses and sale fliers like treasure maps.
What began as a retailer’s desperate year-end push for profitability has morphed into a cultural phenomenon where economic forces, marketing psychology, and consumer frenzy collide in a perfect storm of capitalism.
Back Story
Wall Street trembled on September 24, 1869, when the gold-hoarding scheme of financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk collapsed spectacularly. The pair had quietly amassed vast quantities of the precious metal, strangling supply and sending prices soaring-until President Ulysses S. Grant intervened and released government reserves into the American market.
Gold’s value plummeted within minutes, dragging the stock exchange down with it. Fortunes evaporated by the afternoon. Ruined investors wandered the financial district in shock, giving this catastrophe its enduring name: the first ‘Black Friday’ in American financial history.
The Black Friday scandal barely registered as a setback in Jay Gould’s ascent to wealth. By 1874, he owned the Union Pacific Railroad, followed soon by the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Manhattan Elevated Railroad.
For Jim Fisk, however, his fortune proved as fleeting as the stock market. His ascent into financial history ended abruptly in 1872 when Edward Stokes, a business associate and rival for the attention of actress Josie Mansfield, took matters into his own hands and silenced the flamboyant financier forever.
Side Note
Fisk’s murder sent shockwaves through newsrooms across the globe. Barely a week after his death, readers of the New York Herald’s Sunday edition found themselves privy to the intimate correspondence between Fisk and Josie Mansfield, splashed across page three like fresh blood. Click here to read.
It continues with an Army-Navy Football Game
Philadelphia police in the 1950s grimaced at the mention of ‘Black Friday’-their grim nickname for the day after Thanksgiving, when the city transformed into a gridlocked nightmare. Downtown streets choked with station wagons from the suburbs as holiday shoppers collided with out-of-town football fans arriving for the Army-Navy game.
Officers found themselves directing endless streams of pedestrians while cars honked in frustration, their shifts stretching long into the evening. The term reflected not celebration but exhaustion-a day that left departments’ resources stretched paper-thin and officers counting the hours until the day was over.
Side Note
Although the local Philadelphia newspapers I sifted through don’t appear to have used the term ‘Black Friday’ at the time, numerous online sources do. Looking through archival photographs of the city during the Army-Navy game, I can understand why police officers dreaded traffic duty downtown. The congestion captured in those images would have tested anyone’s patience, especially a cop stuck directing that chaos for hours.
From Negative to Positive
Picture this: a long holiday weekend, the house bursting with relatives. Great-aunt Edna interrupting Uncle Pete’s story for the third time while cousin Marcy’s twins race circles around the dining table.
The turkey’s been carved, the pie plates licked clean, yet somehow everyone’s still here. By Friday, the shared bathroom has become a war zone and the last of the coffee filters vanished hours ago.
What’s the emergency escape plan before someone mentions politics? The mall, naturally, where family togetherness dissolves into blissful, separate credit card transactions.
Freeman Ramsey Jr., The Tennessean Via USA TODAY Network
Retailers, sensing opportunity in the 1980s, cleverly rewrote the narrative. No longer a dreaded day of chaos, ‘Black Friday’ now celebrates the moment when businesses cross from loss to profit – their accounting books shifting from red (negative) to black (positive).
This financial metaphor has washed away the term’s chaotic origins, transforming Black Friday into America’s most anticipated shopping ritual, marked on calendars alongside national holidays.
Final Thoughts
I’ve managed to dodge the Black Friday battlefield my entire life. Maybe it was our empty bank account that kept us away. Maybe it was because the day after Thanksgiving meant another shift for my dad at the naval yard. Or maybe it was just that my mother- all five foot one of her with hands that smelled like books and dish soap- would have sooner walked barefoot through snow than throw elbows for a discounted microwave.
Black Friday means different things to different people. For some, the memory of huddling in the predawn darkness, trading gossip about neighbors over Styrofoam cups of cold coffee, becomes a cherished ritual. Others recall the childlike thrill of being first in line to whisper wishes in Santa’s ear, securing their place in the holiday hierarchy before the masses arrive.
The day is what you make of it. Enjoy the memories however you choose. Maybe the black eye is worth the $30.00 discount on the 90-inch TV. I know my husband thinks so.
For those hungry to explore more, see below for some amazing books I’ve found:
American Rascal: How Jay Gould Built Wall Street’s Biggest Fortune. A gripping, “rollicking” biography of Jay Gould, the greatest of the 19th-century robber barons, whose brilliance, greed, and bare-knuckled tactics made him richer than Rockefeller and led Wall Street to institute its first financial reforms.
The Murder of Jim Fisk for the Love of Josie Mansfield: A Tragedy of the Gilded Age. Trace the extraordinary downfall of financier Jubilee Jim, bringing to life New York’s Gilded Age and some of its legendary players, including Boss William Tweed, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the railroad tycoon Jay Gould.
Until next time, Keep Reading and Stay Caffeinated.
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Sources:
History of Black Friday | CNN Business
The History and Importance of Black Friday | Walden University
Black Friday, September 24, 1869 | American Experience | Official Site | PBS
What are your thoughts?