Community Corner

Finding the Birthday of 'Black Friday'

Patch takes a brief look at the origins of one of the country's most peculiar post-holiday traditions.

Love it or hate it, “Black Friday” has become an American tradition. It's the day after Thanksgiving, when virtually countless Americans will have gone shopping as early as Midnight in order to take advantage of retailer sales earmarked just for the occassion.

But just how did this practice start, and where did the day's name come from?

What may be the earliest known reference to a market-releated “Black Friday” came about late in the 19th century, when a crash in gold values attributed to financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk led to financial pandemonium across the country.

On the tails federal debt caused by the Civil War and the circulation of “greenbacks” replacing gold coins, the financial market was volatile. To address the instability, treasury secretary George Boutwell implemented a combination of selling surplus gold and reducing the greenbacks in circulation, as well as using the acquired currency to buy back government bonds, according to New York Times writer Robert C. Kennedy:

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“Thus, gold investors could not try to make a profit based on economic indicators, but were hostage to unpredictable government actions in the market.  Gould and Fisk realized, though, that gaining inside information on the government's plans would allow them buy massive amounts of gold at a low price and then sell high, reaping enormous profits.”

When stock and crop values plummeted on September 24, 1869, the term “Black Friday” was born.

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The next wave of documented references to “Black Friday” happened nearly a century later. News reports say that heavy vehicle and foot traffic in downtown Philadelphia following thanksgiving led to particularly dense traffic and logistical complications there. Some sources say the term began appearing sometime prior to 1966, followed by broader and more mainstream use of the term over the next 10 years.

Perhaps the tragic connotations of the name "Black Friday" truly were earned on Nov. 28, 2008, however, when a seasonal employee at a Walmart in New York state was trampled to death by a mob of anxious shoppers awaiting early-morning deals.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, who worked with the victim, according to United Press International. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me."


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