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History of Wall Street

Today, Wall Street is synonymous with money, power brokers, and stock exchanges; it is the financial hub of the world. Wall Street, however, was born in humble beginnings. Back in the latter half of the 17th century the area where lower Manhattan stands was populated by Dutch settlers and named New Amsterdam. To protect themselves, the settlers built a wall running the similar course the street does today. Several decades later around 1685 the British tore down the wall and built a street, which was appropriately deemed 'Wall Street'.

The first American stock exchange was founded in Philadelphia around 1790. Shortly after this a group of leading New York merchants met at a secret location marked by a buttonwood tree. These merchants then formed an alliance calling for the involved parties to trade securities only among themselves, to set trading fees and to not participate in other auctions of securities; this came to be known as the Buttonwood Agreement and the foundation for the New York Stock Exchange.

The first several years the New York Merchant Group were difficult, declining from the tumult of the revolutionary war bonds and stock in the Bank of the United States. To seek ideas for improvement the New York Merchants sent an observer to Philadelphia. Upon his return and some new ideas the New York Stock and Exchange Board was formally established.