The Panic of 1893 was the US financial crisis followed by a severe depression and a run on the nation’s gold reserves.
The panic developed amid railroad overbuilding, weak investment, and failures among major companies. The collapse of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad in February 1893 and the failure of the National Cordage Company helped undermine confidence. Bank runs then spread as depositors sought safer assets.
The crisis placed heavy pressure on the US Treasury’s gold reserves because people exchanged paper currency for gold. President Grover Cleveland eventually supported a deal with financier J. P. Morgan and other investors to replenish the Treasury’s reserves with gold.
The resulting depression brought widespread unemployment and business failures. The Pullman Strike of 1894 occurred during the downturn, though the strike itself was a labor conflict rather than the cause of the panic.