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Album: Seattle, Washington 2007
Image: 421 / 545
Date: 2007-09-03 10:09:34
Tags: Seattle

In the Nation

The Panic of 1893

A series of financial shocks undermined public confidence and led to the Financial Panic of 1893 and a deep, nationwide depression. A number or large railroad companies failed. Across the coutnry over 18,000 businesses went bankrupt, causing widespread unemployment and hardship for millions. The depression persisted for most of the remainder of the decade.

The Gold Debate

In the mid-1890s, money in the United States was based on the "gold standard". Any printed bill was backed by an equal amount of gold held in reserve by the government. In 1896, some called for an end to the gold standard. They believed that the scarcity of gold limited the amount of money in circulation and unjustly harmed the nation's workers. They advocated "bimetalism" - printed money backed by an equal amount of gold OR silver. This, they argued, would put more money in circulation and aid the struggling economy. The intense national debate over the gold standard propelled the Klondike Gold Rush into the national spotlight.

At the end of the 19th century, the United States was rapidly changing from a farm-based society into an industrial giant. Cities, flooded with people looking for work, became dreary, polluted and crime-ridden. Many people lived in squalid conditions. Disease was rampant. A few wealthy industrialists lived extravagant, showy lives.