The Panic of 1873 helped end the post-Civil War boom and begin the Long Depression.
The panic began in the United States in September 1873 after the failure of the investment firm Jay Cooke & Company. The firm had heavily promoted railroad financing, and its collapse damaged confidence in railroads, banks, and financial markets. The New York Stock Exchange closed temporarily for the first time.
The shock spread internationally, especially to Europe, where financial strains were already present after speculative expansion and the Franco-Prussian War. A prolonged period of falling prices, business failures, unemployment, and weak investment followed. Historians debate the exact dates and severity of the Long Depression, but the panic is conventionally treated as its starting point.
It is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1893 or Panic of 1907, later U.S. financial crises. The 1873 episode is especially associated with railroad speculation and the collapse of Jay Cooke & Company.