The Attempted Murder That Built Gilded Age San Francisco: The Spreckels Dynasty скачать в хорошем качестве

The Attempted Murder That Built Gilded Age San Francisco: The Spreckels Dynasty

Adolph Spreckels, sugar baron heir and San Francisco dynasty member, shot Chronicle editor M.H. de Young twice on November 19, 1884, in attempted murder with multiple witnesses, but walked free after his wealthy family corrupted the jury. The Spreckels sugar empire controlled Hawaiian plantations, exploited immigrant workers, and demonstrated Gilded Age justice was for sale, with both families later building San Francisco's de Young Museum and Legion of Honor despite their violent feud. -------------- Gain FREE access to secret full-length documentaries on wealthy families "too scandalous for YouTube" by joining our newsletter: https://www.substack.com/@oldmoneyluxury -------------- TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 Introduction 1:25 Chapter One: The Uncrowned King 4:48 Chapter Two: The Chronicle's Accusations 7:58 Chapter Three: A City That Settled Scores with Bullets 10:35 Chapter Four: Two Shots at the Chronicle 13:03 Chapter Five: The Verdict Money Could Buy 15:43 Chapter Six: The Museums They Left Behind -------------- On November 19, 1884, 27-year-old Adolph Spreckels walked through the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom, spotted editor M.H. de Young, and fired twice with a Navy revolver. De Young collapsed after bullets struck his shoulder and arm, with the second shot deflected from his chest by a package of children's books he was carrying. Six months later, despite multiple eyewitnesses, an unarmed victim, and the gun still in his hand when police arrived, Adolph Spreckels walked free. The New York Times captured what everyone understood: "Well, money can do anything in this city." By the early 1880s, Claus Spreckels controlled nearly every grain of sugar refined west of the Rocky Mountains and had bent the Hawaiian Kingdom to his will. A contemporary account described him as "uncrowned King of the Hawaiian Islands" who "built palaces for the crowned King, planned European excursions for his dusky Majesty, and formed the Cabinet." Spreckels cultivated King Kalākaua with loans and flattery, installing artists, poets, and journalists at the Hawaiian court—all drawing salaries from his accounts. In 1878, he secured a lease on 40,000 acres of Maui's finest agricultural land, and four years later acquired outright title through a scheme involving Princess Ruth Ke'elikolani. The Spreckels shooting fit a pattern San Franciscans knew well—the Chronicle's own co-founder Charles de Young had shot Reverend Isaac Kalloch in 1879. Kalloch won the mayoral election from his hospital bed, and the following year his 26-year-old son walked into the Chronicle offices and shot Charles de Young dead. Young Kalloch's trial lasted six weeks before a jury returned a not guilty verdict on self-defense grounds, though de Young had never returned fire. When Spreckels called out de Young's name, the editor had not completed his turn before the first bullet struck his left shoulder. Spreckels advanced and fired again, but de Young raised the package of children's books, deflecting the bullet from his chest to his arm. A Chronicle clerk pulled a pistol from his desk drawer and shot Spreckels in the arm, finally ending the assault. Spreckels was released on bail despite facing attempted murder charges with multiple eyewitnesses—preferential treatment that announced the fix was already in. Spreckels' attorneys advanced two contradictory defenses: self-defense and temporary insanity. Witnesses reported that jurors dropped "paper pellets" to Spreckels' friends in the courtroom gallery and exchanged hand signals during deliberations. In June 1885, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. Adolph continued his rise through the family business, eventually becoming company president when Claus died in 1908. San Francisco's two greatest cultural institutions were built by families who spent decades trying to destroy each other, with one founder shooting the other and walking free because his father's fortune had corrupted the jury.