The Stock Market

            The Stock Market is an area of which I have very little knowledge of, and therefore decided to research as my topic for this paper. Though it plays a very important role in nearly every section of our lives, I can't say I know much more than nothing about it. I found that the stock market is an important tool in money management. It is a major symbol of financial capitalism, a hobby for some, and a device for holding value in one's money (Sobel ix)It is a risk-taking organization, for no one can accurately predict it's future. Wall Street grows from an elaborate history, largely due to the early works of Charles Dow. In researching this topic, I not only learned a great deal of information pertaining to the history of the stock market and reasons for investing, I also learned many basic procedures and means of investing money into stocks of companies. I discovered the inner workings of the brokers, dealers, and private investors that make up the stock market.
             The history of the Stock Market can be traced back to one man who had an extensive list of business contracts. Charles Dow began his financial career at the Kiernan News Agency in New York City, New York. This agency distributed handwritten business news various banks and brokers (Fair 1). It was at this job that Dow met fellow co-workers Charles Bergstresser and Edward Jones. These two and Dow would eventually split from the company and form a publishing company of their own in 1882. Dow Jones and Company included all three men, however Bergstresser last name was too long to be included in the title. Bergstresser also headed up the firms daily publication, later know as "The Wall Street Journal." The original stock average was based on 11 railroad companies, and later included companies like U.S. Rubber and National Lead (Fair 1). The average was name the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and once again left out the long last name of Bergstresser.