1893年恐慌
年份 | Lebergott | Romer |
---|---|---|
1890 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
1891 | 5.4 | 4.8 |
1892 | 3.0 | 3.7 |
1893 | 11.7 | 8.1 |
1894 | 18.4 | 12.3 |
1895 | 13.7 | 11.1 |
1896 | 14.5 | 12.0 |
1897 | 14.5 | 12.4 |
1898 | 12.4 | 11.6 |
1899 | 6.5 | 8.7 |
1900 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
原因
1893年恐慌的原因之一可以追溯到阿根廷。巴林兄弟銀行的阿根廷代理行在阿根廷進行了大筆投資。然而布宜諾斯艾利斯政變使投資無法持續。由於歐洲投資者擔心這些問題可能擴散,他們開始向美國財政部擠兌黃金,因為對他們而言將美元投資兌換成可出口的黃金相對容易。[2] 在19世紀七八十年代的鍍金時代,美國經歷了經濟增長和擴張,但大部分擴張依賴高昂的國際大宗商品價格,然而1893年小麥價格暴跌。[3]
問題的第一個明顯跡象出現在1893年2月20日,[4] 格羅弗·克利夫蘭總統就職典禮前13天。當天費城和雷丁鐵路公司的破產接管人得到任命,該公司曾經極大地過度擴張。[5] 上任後,克利夫蘭與財政部直接處理危機,[6] 並成功說服國會廢除謝爾曼白銀採購法案,克利夫蘭認為該法案要對這場經濟危機負主要責任。[7]
隨着對國家經濟狀況的擔憂加劇,人們爭相從銀行提取存款,造成銀行擠兌。信貸緊縮波及整個經濟。英國金融恐慌和歐洲貿易下滑導致外國投資者拋售美國股票,以獲得以黃金支撐的美國資金。[8]
人民黨人
人民黨是一個短命的農業平民主義政黨,政治上受到西部小麥種植者和南部貧困棉花種植者的歡迎。他們將隨之而來的恐慌看作毫無根基的全球金融價值觀侵蝕美國傳統價值觀的證明。歷史學家Hasia Diner指出:
一些人民黨人認為,猶太人組成的國際金融家階層的政策毀掉了小型家庭農場。他們斷言擁有銀行的猶太人推行金本位制,而這正是導致他們貧困的主要根源。農業激進主義假定城市是美國價值觀的對立面,聲稱猶太人是城市腐敗的本質。[9]
白銀
自由銀幣運動興起,獲得了農民的支持(試圖刺激經濟,引發通貨膨脹,從而能夠用更廉價的美元償還債務) 和礦業利益集團(爭取將白銀納入貨幣的權利)。1890年的謝爾曼白銀採購法案並未達成自由銀幣運動的目標,該法案要求美國政府購買數百萬盎司的白銀,這已超出1878年布蘭德-艾利森法案(該法案抬高銀價以取悅銀礦礦主)的要求。人們試圖用白銀券贖回黃金。最終美聯儲的黃金儲量達到最低法定限額,美國貨幣不再能兌換黃金。[8] 這段恐慌時期的投資活動主要通過高利息債券融資。市場傳言全國繩索公司(當時交易最活躍股票)陷入財務困境,導致銀行家要求該公司償還貸款,企業因此進入破產管理階段。這家繩索製造公司曾試圖壟斷全國進口麻市場。隨着白銀需求和白銀券價值下降,白銀價格和價值猛跌。債券持有者憂慮債券面值損失,其中很多已經一文不值。
一系列銀行倒閉接踵而至,北太平洋鐵路、聯合太平洋鐵路和艾奇遜·托皮卡和聖菲鐵路公司破產。隨之而來的是許多其他公司破產;超過15,000家企業和500家銀行破產,其中多數在西部。根據較高的估計,在恐慌最嚴重時約17%-19%的勞動力失業。失業急劇飆升,加上由於銀行破產導致的生活儲蓄損失,意味着一度安全的中產階層無法再償還房屋抵押貸款。結果許多人失去了自己建成伊始的住宅。[10]
影響
這場恐慌導致股價下跌。500家銀行關閉,15000家企業破產,眾多農場停止運營。失業率在賓夕法尼亞州達到25%,在紐約為35%,在密歇根州是43%。施粥所開放以接濟赤貧者。面對飢餓人們砍柴、破岩、縫紉以換取食物。在一些情況下婦女靠賣淫養活家庭。為了救助底特律的民眾,市長黑曾·平格利開設了「平格利土豆地」,一種社區農業園。[11]
1890年謝爾曼白銀採購法案,可能也包括同年的貿易保護主義麥金萊關稅,已被認為是恐慌的部分成因。因為該法案應西部銀礦所有者的要求而通過,這些礦主已經過度生產了白銀,而法案要求美國財政部用白銀或黃金支持的紙幣購入白銀。民主黨人和總統克利夫蘭因為蕭條備受指責。國庫黃金儲備也下降至危險水平。這迫使克利夫蘭總統向華爾街銀行家J.P.摩根和英格蘭羅斯柴爾德家族[12]借入價值6500萬美元的黃金以支持金本位制。[13] 在隨後的1894年大選中民主黨和人民黨慘敗。這次選舉是共和黨有史以來的最大勝利。[14]
參見
參考文獻
- ^ Timberlake, Jr., Richard H. Panic of 1893. Glasner, David; Cooley, Thomas F. (編). Business Cycles and Depressions: an Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Publishing. 1997: 516–18. ISBN 0-8240-0944-4.
- ^ Nelson, Scott Reynolds. 2012. A Nation of Deadbeats. New York: Alfred Knopf, p. 188.
- ^ Nelson, Scott Reynolds. 2012. A Nation of Deadbeats. New York: Alfred Knopf, p. 189.
- ^ IN RE RICE. Findlaw. [2016-06-29]. (原始內容存檔於2012-11-05).
- ^ James L. Holton, The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire, Vol. I: The Nineteenth Century, pp. 323–325, citing Vincent Corasso, The Morgans.
- ^ "Grover Cleveland (頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)," whitehouse.gov
- ^ "Grover Cleveland (頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)," American President: A Reference Resource, millercenter.org
- ^ 8.0 8.1 Whitten, David O. EH.Net Encyclopedia: Depression of 1893. eh.net. [2009-04-20]. (原始內容存檔於2009-04-27).
- ^ Hasia R. Diner. The Jews of the United States, 1654 to 2000. U. of California Press. 2004: 170 [2016-06-29]. (原始內容存檔於2020-01-02).
- ^ Hoffman, Charles. The Depression of the Nineties: An Economic History. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 1970. p. 109.
- ^ Parshall, Gerald. "The Great Panic Of '93." U.S. News & World Report 113.17 (1992): 70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Feb. 2013.
- ^ The Panic of 1893: Boosting Bankers’ Money and Power. [2016-06-29]. (原始內容存檔於2017-02-07).
- ^ Paper Money vs. Gold Money. [2016-06-29]. (原始內容存檔於2020-11-09).
- ^ Frail, T. A. "Top 10 Historic Midterm Elections (頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)." Smithsonian.com, Oct. 14, 2010.
擴展閱讀
當代來源
- American Annual Cyclopedia...1894 (1895) online(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Baum, Lyman Frank and W. W. Denslow. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900); see Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Brice, Lloyd Stephens, and James J. Wait. 「The Railway Problem.」 North American Review 164 (March 1897): 327–48. online at MOA Cornell.
- Cleveland, Frederick A. "The Final Report of the Monetary Commission," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 13 (January 1899): 31–56 in JSTOR(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Closson, Carlos C. Jr. "The Unemployed in American Cities." Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 8, no. 2 (January 1894) 168–217 in JSTOR)(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館); vol. 8, no. 4 (July 1894): 443–477 in JSTOR(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Fisher, Willard. "『Coin』 and His Critics." Quarterly Journal of Economics 10 (January 1896): 187–208 in JSTOR(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Harvey, William H. Coin’s Financial School (1894), 1963 (Introduction by Richard Hofstadter). online first edition(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Noyes, Alexander Dana. "The Banks and the Panic," Political Science Quarterly 9 (March 1894): 12–28 in JSTOR(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館).
- Shaw, Albert. "Relief for the Unemployed in American Cities," Review of Reviews 9 (January and February 1894): 29–37, 179–91.
- Stevens, Albert Clark. "An Analysis of the Phenomena of the Panic in the United States in 1893," Quarterly Journal of Economics 8 (January 1894): 117–48 in JSTOR(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館).
次要來源
- Barnes, James A. John G. Carlisle: Financial Statesman (1931).
- Barnes, James A. Myths of the Bryan Campaign. Mississippi Valley Historical Review (The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, Vol. 34, No. 3). 1947, 34 (3): 383–394. JSTOR 1898096. doi:10.2307/1898096.
- Destler, Chester McArthur. American Radicalism, 1865–1901 (1966).
- Dewey, Davis Rich. Financial History of the United States (1903). online(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館).
- Dighe, Ranjit S. ed. The Historian's Wizard of Oz: Reading L. Frank Baum's Classic as a Political and Monetary Allegory (2002).
- Dorfman, Joseph Harry. The Economic Mind in American Civilization. (1949). vol 3.
- Faulkner, Harold Underwood. Politics, Reform, and Expansion, 1890–1900. (1959).
- Feder, Leah Hanna. Unemployment Relief in Periods of Depression ... 1857–1920 (1926).
- Friedman, Milton, and Anna Jacobson Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States, 1867–1960 (1963).
- Harpine, William D. From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential Campaign (2006) excerpt and text search (頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Hoffmann, Charles. The Depression of the Nineties. Journal of Economic History. 1956, 16 (2): 137–164. JSTOR 2114113.
- Hoffmann, Charles. The Depression of the Nineties: An Economic History (1970).
- Jensen, Richard. The Winning of the Midwest: 1888–1896 (1971).
- Josephson, Matthew. The Robber Barons New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1990).
- Kirkland, Edward Chase. Industry Comes of Age, 1860–1897 (1961).
- Lauck, William Jett. jays journal The Causes of the Panic of 1893 (1907). online(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Lindsey, Almont. The Pullman Strike 1942.
- Littlefield, Henry M. The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism. American Quarterly (American Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 1). 1964, 16 (1): 47–58. JSTOR 2710826. doi:10.2307/2710826.
- Nevins, Allan. Grover Cleveland: A Study in Courage. 1932, Pulitzer Prize.
- Rezneck, Samuel S. Unemployment, Unrest, and Relief in the United States during the Depression of 1893–97. Journal of Political Economy (The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 61, No. 4). 1953, 61 (4): 324–345. JSTOR 1826883. doi:10.1086/257393.
- Ritter, Gretchen. Goldbugs and Greenbacks: The Anti-Monopoly Tradition and the Politics of Finance in America (1997)
- Ritter, Gretchen. Silver slippers and a golden cap: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and historical memory in American politics. Journal of American Studies. 1997, 31 (2): 171–203. doi:10.1017/S0021875897005628.
- Rockoff, Hugh. The 'Wizard of Oz' as a Monetary Allegory. Journal of Political Economy (The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, No. 4). 1990, 98 (4): 739–760. JSTOR 2937766. doi:10.1086/261704.
- Romer, Christina. Spurious Volatility in Historical Unemployment Data. Journal of Political Economy. 1986, 94 (1): 1–37. doi:10.1086/261361.
- Schwantes, Carlos A. Coxey’s Army: An American Odyssey (1985).
- Shannon, Fred Albert. The Farmer’s Last Frontier: Agriculture, 1860–1897 (1945).
- Steeples, Douglas, and David O. Whitten. Democracy in Desperation: The Depression of 1893 (1998).
- White; Gerald T. The United States and the Problem of Recovery after 1893 (1982).
- Whitten, David. EH.NET article on the Depression of 1893(頁面存檔備份,存於網際網路檔案館)
- Wicker, Elmus. Banking panics of the gilded age (Cambridge University Press, 2006) contents
外部連結
- Causes of the Business Depression by Henry George; appeared in Once a Week, a New York periodical, March 6, 1894