The 1873 financial crisis that helped begin the Long Depression was the Panic of 1873.
The panic began in Europe and the United States after speculative railway investment and property expansion encountered financial strain. In the United States, the failure of Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 helped trigger a run on banks and a suspension of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The resulting downturn brought falling prices, business failures, unemployment, and severe pressure on railways and banks. The depression lasted for years, although its exact end date varies by country and historian. In the United States, the contraction is commonly dated from 1873 to 1879.
The crisis is sometimes called the Great Depression of the nineteenth century, but that label should not be confused with the 1930s Great Depression. It also influenced debates over monetary policy, especially disputes involving the gold standard and silver, that continued through the late nineteenth century.