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History Of The Stock Market

The financial markets of the United States, today, are collectively known as "Wall Street." These words represent the heart of the business and financial world in the United States today. Many of us conjure up well known images of companies being bought and sold, traders screaming out to get the best prices for their clients, fortunes won and lost many times over, and the billions of dollars exchanged in deals. Some may even claim that it is the "Crystal Ball" that can predict and control the economy. Wall Street actually does exist, physically, in New York City. It became the symbol of financial dealing from its own history of being the base of the large scale business dealings in Colonial America. Wall Street has also become the term that describes several stock exchanges and broker/dealer networks that have come into the computer age of finances. The street's location put it in the perfect position to become the base for the import and exports of the new colony.
Despite the fact that New York City was the temporary capital of the United States from 1785 to 1790, the first real stock exchange begun in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1790. This was a simple finical market in which traders needed to have their offices close to the stock exchange so that messengers could keep the brokers up to date with current information. Many cities had their own finical markets because of how slow information traveled. The first major innovation of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange was a signal-system between Philadelphia and New York. This system brought news of current stock prices, lottery ticket information and other important news. The signal-system was a simple yet complex operation. The signal system started in Philadelphia with lines running along the mountains through New Jersey ending with a station hub in New York City. The stations consisted of a basic watch tower with telescopes, flags, and signal beacons to relay information from tower to tower. This...