1873年9月爆发的金融危机是一场影响深远的经济灾难，波及欧洲和北美地区。[1]这场危机由多个因素共同触发，包括美国铁路投机泡沫破裂、白银贬值、欧洲战争后遗症和重大火灾损失。[1]危机首先在维也纳股票交易所爆发，[1]随后蔓延至整个欧洲和北美，导致银行倒闭、大规模失业和商业停滞，其影响持续至1879年。[1]
危机的震中在美国。9月18日，美国著名银行家杰伊·库克公司宣布破产，[1]纽约银行准备金随之从9月的5000万美元跌至10月的1700万美元。[1]纽约股票交易所随后从9月20日起关闭十天。[1]经济衰退带来的失业和产业萎缩影响长期存在，失业率在1878年达到峰值8.25%。[1]1873年至1875年间共有18000家企业倒闭，[1]铁路建设从1872年至1875年间从7500英里骤降至1600英里。[1]
社会层面，经济危机激化了劳资矛盾。1877年的大铁路罢工导致至少18人在密苏里州冲突中丧生。[1]同年，国会通过的《渡轮法案》也被总统格兰特否决。[1]
The Panic of 1873 was a severe financial crisis that struck Europe and North America, triggering an economic depression lasting several years [1]. The crisis erupted on September 18, 1873, when the prominent American banking firm Jay Cooke & Company declared bankruptcy [1], followed by the closure of the New York Stock Exchange for ten days beginning September 20 [1]. The collapse was driven by multiple interconnected factors, including a burst in American railroad speculation, silver depreciation, lingering effects from European wars, and substantial fire-related losses [1].
The economic impact was devastating and prolonged. New York bank reserves plummeted from $50 million in September 1873 to $17 million by October [1]. Between 1873 and 1875, approximately 18,000 businesses failed [1], while railroad construction dropped sharply from 7,500 miles in 1872 to just 1,600 miles by 1875 [1]. The crisis spread rapidly across both continents, originating at the Vienna Stock Exchange before engulfing financial institutions throughout Europe and North America [1]. The ripple effects extended well into the late 1870s, with unemployment reaching a peak of 8.25 percent in 1878 [1]. The economic turmoil contributed to labor unrest, including the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which resulted in at least 18 deaths during clashes in Missouri [1]. The depression persisted until 1879 [1], and a legislative effort to address the crisis—the Greenback Act passed by Congress in 1874—was vetoed by President Grant [1].