In the middle decades of the nineteenth century Jeremiah G. Hamilton was a well-known figure on Wall Street. Cornelius Vanderbilt, America's first tycoon, came to respect, grudgingly, his onetime opponent. The day after Vanderbilt's death on January 4, 1877, an obituary acknowledged that "There was only one man who ever fought the Commodore to the end, and that was Jeremiah Hamilton." Hamilton, although his origins were lowly, possibly slave, was reportedly the richest black man in the United States, possessing a fortune of $2 million, or in excess of two hundred and $50 million in today's currency. In this ground-breaking and vivid account, eminent historian Shane White reveals the larger than life story of a man who defied every convention of his time. He wheeled and dealed in the lily white business world, he married a white woman, he bought a mansion in rural New Jersey, he owned railroad stock on trains he was not legally allowed to ride, and generally set his white contemporaries teeth on edge when he wasn't just plain outsmarting them. An important contribution to American history, the Hamilton's life offers a way into considering, from the unusual perspective of a black man.

The amazing and forgotten story of Wall Street's first black millionaire in pre-Civil War New York

About the Author
Shane White is the Challis Professor of History and an Australian Professorial Fellow in the History Department at the University of Sydney specialising in African-American history. He has authored or co-authored five books, collaborated in the construction of the website Digital Harlem, and won awards from institutions as varied as the American Historical Association and the American Library Association. He lives in Sydney, Australia.


Book Information
ISBN 9781250099815
Author Shane White
Format Paperback
Page Count 368
Imprint St Martin's Press
Publisher St Martin's Press
Weight(grams) 316g
Dimensions(mm) 208mm * 139mm * 25mm