What was the name of the major U.S. financial panic that began in 1893?

The major U.S. financial panic that began in 1893 was the Panic of 1893. It was a severe economic depression that followed the collapse of confidence in railroads, banks, and businesses and spread through financial markets in the United States and other countries.

A major immediate shock came when the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad failed in February 1893. The National Cordage Company also entered receivership in May, contributing to a broader loss of confidence. As investors withdrew funds, banks failed, businesses closed, and unemployment rose. The crisis was intensified by disputes over U.S. monetary policy, especially the nation’s gold reserves and the purchase of silver.

The depression lasted for several years and became one of the most serious economic downturns in nineteenth-century America. It helped shape the political debate leading to the 1896 presidential election, particularly the argument over free silver. The Panic of 1893 is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1873 or the Panic of 1907, but those were separate financial crises with different immediate triggers.