The Panic of 1893 was the worst U.S. economic depression before the Great Depression, causing unemployment above 25% and triggering a major political realignment.
Key Facts
- Start date
- February 1893
- Duration
- Approximately 8 months
- Peak unemployment
- Above 25% in many states
- Crisis trigger
- Run on gold from the U.S. Treasury
- Political outcome
- Realignment leading to McKinley presidency
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Underlying weaknesses in the U.S. banking system, excessive railroad speculation, and dwindling gold reserves created fragile economic conditions by the early 1890s, culminating in a loss of confidence that sparked a run on the U.S. Treasury's gold supply.
Beginning in February 1893, the United States entered a severe economic depression marked by bank failures, business collapses, and surging unemployment. The crisis officially lasted eight months and affected virtually every sector of the economy, with jobless rates exceeding 25% in numerous states and poverty spreading widely.
The depression produced significant political upheaval, reshaping party coalitions in a major realignment and contributing directly to the election of William McKinley to the presidency. It remained the most serious economic downturn in U.S. history until the Great Depression of the 1930s, and was followed by the related Panic of 1896.