Panic of 1893

A severe economic depression in the United States, triggered by financial panic and marked by bank failures, business closures, and widespread unemployment.

Sherman Silver Purchase Act: A 1890 United States law that required the Treasury to buy large quantities of silver and issue notes redeemable in gold or silver. Its silver purchases strained confidence in the government's ability to maintain gold redemption.
Bank run: A rapid withdrawal of deposits from a bank by customers who fear it may fail. Depositor withdrawals turned fears about solvency into immediate pressure on banks.
Pullman Strike: A nationwide railroad strike in 1894 that began among workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company near Chicago. The depression's wage cuts and unemployment intensified the labor conflict that became the strike.
Panic of 1873: A financial crisis that began in 1873 and led to a prolonged economic depression in the United States and Europe. It also followed railroad speculation, but preceded the 1893 crisis by two decades.
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad: A major American railroad that entered receivership in 1893 after financial distress and heavy debt. Its failure intensified alarm about railroad solvency and financial institutions.
Railroad receivership: A court-supervised process in which a receiver manages an insolvent railroad's assets and operations. Railroad receiverships disrupted bond payments and damaged lenders exposed to railway debt.
Coxey's Army: A 1894 march of unemployed men to Washington, D.C., organized by Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey. The march made demands for public works a visible response to mass unemployment.
Panic of 1907: A United States financial crisis in 1907 that involved bank runs and prompted reforms to the banking system. Its concentrated banking panic contrasts with the extended economic breakdown after 1893.
National Cordage Company: A leading rope manufacturer whose failure in May 1893 helped trigger a wave of stock-market panic. Its collapse marked a sharp escalation from corporate trouble to market-wide fear.
Credit crunch: A sharp reduction in the availability of loans, often as lenders become more cautious or lose funding. Banks and investors curtailed lending, leaving businesses unable to refinance or meet expenses.

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