‘The Hour of Fate’ untangles complex trust-busting history

In the reductionist view of Wall Street history, President William McKinley was “pro-business,” and from the instant he took office in 1897, business leaders rejoiced. This was an era dominated by rapacious barons of finance, perhaps none more towering than J.P. Morgan, the glowering, temperamental “Jupiter” of Wall Street. In President McKinley, Morgan and his business rivals and partners felt they had a man with whom they could do business. 

All that ended on Sept. 6, 1901