Clifford F. Thies

The famous phrase was uttered by William H. Vanderbilt, which was interpreted to mean that the capitalists didn’t care for their customers. Vanderbilt knew he worked for his stockholders, but in working for them, he had to provide for his railroad’s passengers.

During the late nineteenth century, when silver agitation threatened the gold standard in the United States, gold bonds offered investors some protection from the uncertainties concerning the monetary standard in the United States.

This paper tracks the economic and political developments in the state of Kentucky that led up to the murder, trial, and execution constituting “The Kentucky Tragedy,”