The 1893 United States financial crisis marked by railroad failures and bank suspensions was called the Panic of 1893.
The crisis began after the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad and other major rail companies failed. Investors became concerned about railroad debt, while the collapse of the National Cordage Company added to the loss of confidence. Bank runs followed, and more than 500 banks suspended operations during the wider depression.
The panic also affected the nation’s gold reserves. Under the gold standard, fears that the government could not maintain gold convertibility increased pressure on the Treasury. President Grover Cleveland later arranged a major bond sale led by J. P. Morgan to replenish the reserve.
The resulting depression brought unemployment, business failures, and labor conflict, including the Pullman Strike of 1894. The Panic of 1893 is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1873, but the two crises occurred two decades apart and had different immediate triggers.