The Panic of 1873 helped trigger the Long Depression beginning in 1873. The crisis started in Europe and the United States after speculative railway investment and property expansion collided with financial failures.
In the United States, the collapse of the banking firm Jay Cooke & Company in September 1873 helped set off a broader panic. The New York Stock Exchange closed temporarily, and railroads, banks, and businesses came under severe pressure.
Historians debate the precise length and causes of the downturn, and the term Long Depression can refer to different periods depending on the country. It was not the same event as the Great Depression of the 1930s, but both involved prolonged economic weakness following financial stress.