The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877, continuing until 1879 in the French Third Republic and in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In Britain, the panic started two decades of economic stagnation known as the "Long Depression" that weakened the country's economic leadership. In the United States, the period of economic stagnation was known as the "Great Depression" until the events of 1929 and the early 1930s set a new standard. October 1873 – March 1879 · 5 years 5 months Business activity: −33.6% (−27.3%) Economic problems in Europe prompted the failure of Jay Cooke & Company, the largest bank in the United States, which burst the post-Civil War speculative bubble. The Coinage Act of 1873 also contributed by immediately depressing the price of silver, which hurt North American mining interests. The deflation and wage cuts of the era led to labor turmoil, such as the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. In 1879, the United States returned to the gold standard with the Specie Payment Resumption Act. This is the longest period of economic contraction recognized by the NBER, though the Long Depression is sometimes held to be the entire period from October 1873 to December 1896. Dates: the National Bureau of Economic Research's business cycle chronology. Wiki link Wiki link