Panic of 1893

The Panic of 1893 was a nationwide economic disaster set off by the crisis of two of the country's largest employers, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and the National Cordage Company. Subsequent of the collapse of these two companies, distress blasted the stock market. Hundreds of businesses had overstretched themselves, borrowing money to develop their operations. When the financial catastrophe hit, banks and other financing companies started calling in loans, triggering hundreds of business bankruptcies across the United States. Banks, railroads, and steel mills in particular fell into bankruptcy. Over fifteen thousand businesses closed during the Panic of 1893. Unemployment rates skyrocketed to twenty to twenty-five percent in the United States for the duration of the Panic of 1893. Homelessness increased rapidly, as workers were laid off and could not pay their rent or mortgages. The unemployed also had troubles purchasing food due to the scarcity of pay. The Depression of 1893 was one of the worst in American history with the unemployment rate exceeding ten percent for half a decade. The Depression of 1893 can be seen as a watershed event in American history. It was accompanied by violent strikes, the climax of the Populist and free silver political crusades, the creation of a new political balance, the continuing transformation of the country’s economy, major changes in national policy, and far-reaching social and intellectual developments. Business contraction shaped the decade that ushered out the nineteenth century (Whitten, 2001)

Broughton, Charles, Artist. The recent panic - scene in the New York Stock Exchange on the morning of Friday, May 5th / Drawn by Charles Broughton from sketches on the spot. New York, 1893. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2003688493/.

The recent panic scene in the New York Stock Exchange on the morning of Friday, May 5th / Drawn by Charles Broughton from sketches on the spot.

Whitten, David O. “The Depression of 1893.” Economic History Services, 2001. https://eh.net/encyclopedia/the-depression-of-1893/. Key events, statistics, and details regarding the Depression of 1893.