الأزمات المالية في الولايات المتحدة الأميركية وآثارها على الاقتصاد الأميركي 1884-1907.

Abstract

In the late 19th century, the American financial system experienced significant expansion but was also plagued by banking panics. The turmoil began in May 1884 with the collapse of several New York City financial firms. Among them, the National Bank of Marin and the brokerage firm Grant & Ward declared bankruptcy due to the failure of speculative investments by their owners. Shortly afterward, the Second National Bank faced a run on deposits when it was discovered that its president had embezzled $3 million and fled to Canada. Similarly, the Metropolitan National Bank was forced to shut down after rumors spread that its president had been speculating on railroad securities using borrowed funds from the bank. The crisis of 1884 was followed by the Depression of 1893, one of the worst economic downturns in American history. This financial panic reached its peak in February 1893 when the Philadelphia and Reading Railway declared bankruptcy. By April, the gold reserve had fallen below $100 million, triggering a complete collapse of the stock market. By the end of 1893, the depression had impacted 15,000 commercial projects, caused numerous banks to lose credit and shut down, and left 3 million people unemployed. The banks' ability to make payments was severely threatened, leading to mass withdrawals as people rushed to secure their deposits. The financial crisis of 1907, which began with the Credit companies, unfolded on Monday, October 21. That afternoon, the National Bank of Commerce announced it would no longer honor checks issued by the Knickerbocker Trust Company. This announcement triggered a rush of depositors to withdraw their balances from Knickerbocker, leading to the suspension of operations for many banks and companies. The crisis resulted in a 21% rise in the prices of basic commodities, an 11% decline in industrial production, a 26% drop in imports, and an increase in unemployment from 3% to 8%. Additionally, immigration to the United States sharply decreased. Before the crisis, 1.2 million immigrants arrived annually, but this number plummeted to 750,000 following the crisis.