Panic of 1893

Panic of 1893 that ended an era of amazing economic growth is definitely a major event in the American history. Followed by violent strikes a new political balance was created while transforming national economy, as well as far-reaching social and intellectual developments. Railroads were overbuilt at the time, allowing speculative motives to come first. Numerous companies were continuing their growth by takeovers of competition, despite of the potential negative effects. The panic which eventually started in New York over the course of time spread over the United States of America. Read more about the Panic of 1893 aftermath here.

Argentina economy crisis - part II

Following advice from the IMF, political decisions lead to a law which restored the peso instead of austral, keeping the value fixed at one dollar equaling one peso and both currencies easily convertible. The convertibility law resulted with a sharp drop in inflation, restored price stability and preserved the value of the national currency. During the 1990's Argentina economic boom was considered a great success. But in 2001, the Argentina was no longer able to meet the debt payments. The government declared a default on the larger part of the public debt, in total of more than $132 billion. People began to fear the worst and started withdrawing large amounts of money from their bank accounts, simultaneously turning pesos into dollars. Most of the money was sent abroad, while many more bank runs took place in homeland. Read more about the Argentina economic crisis...

Panic of 1857

The Panic of 1857 occurred after a loss of confidence in an Ohio bank and subsequently spread as railroads failed. Railroad speculation was high and the crisis made the people pay for their unwise and greed-driven decisions. On August 24, 1857, the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company failed due to the massive embezzlement spreading panic as the confidence in banks was slowly disappearing. Soon nationwide banks began to collapse and a severe economic depression in the United States started. Many people lost their jobs and massive protests followed. Adding to the troubles of the banks, the sailing ship full of gold was lost in the hurricane and sank to the bottom of the ocean. With their failed investments in railroad and land, it was impossible for the banks to gather all the gold their customers demanded. Read more about the Panic of 1857 here.

Bankers Panic of 1907

A panic that eventually brought the New York Stock Exchange close to 50% from its peak the previous year occurred in 1907. The name Bankers Panic was given because of the numerous runs on trust companies making the whole banking system crash like dominos. Together with the weaknesses in the real economy, it created a harsh crisis for the United States. The crisis was triggered by the failed attempt to corner the market on stock of the United Copper Company. When the failure became public, banks that had lent money for the cornering scheme suffered runs. Fear spread to affiliated banks and trusts as Americans panicked and investors pulled their money out of stock market. Soon the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company, at the time New York City's third largest trust bank, created massive loss of confidence in which almost every bank suffered a run. Famous J.P. Morgan took the matters into his hands, and together with other leading bankers of the era managed to avert nationwide consequences. Read more about the Bankers Panic here.

The Great Depression of 1929

I'm quite sure you already heard about the Great Depression, since it was one of the biggest in our history. Entire world felt the consequences of an economic downturn and the United States economy took a nosedive which lasted almost ten years. It all began with the speculation on Wall Street, where a massive crash took place. Panic spread quickly as the economic conditions got worse. Bank runs and layoffs were a common sight and they are the first topic in the series of Great Depression related pictures. To find out more information about the Great depression of 1929, click here. You can also watch a documentary on Youtube of the ordinary people stories during the crisis, first part covering the circumstances of the Great Depression and the second part showing the hardship and the American culture of the period.