Robert Remini - A Short History of the United States

I like to think that I am a keen, though amateur, student of American history. What this means in practical terms is that I put current political events in historical perspective, as best I can understand things. There is no substitute for historical perspective.

We've had economic panics a number of times in our history. The current economic situation is not unique in that way. In this book that I am reading presently, here is a description of the Panic of 1873 during another Republican heyday that lasted about 6 years. Of course, this occurred during the so-called Gilded Age during which there were numerous Republican scandals.

"The consequences of these scandals and the involvement of Congress with big business were bad enough for the (Grant) administration and the Republican Party, but the onset of the Panic of 1873 proved devastating. This was an economic depression that hit hard and lasted from 1873 to 1879. Triggered by the wild speculation in railroads, DISHONEST BANKING PRACTICES (emphasis added), overexpansion in industry, commerce, and agriculture, and the failure of Jay Cooke's banking firm, the Panic generated widespread suffering. Three million workers lost their jobs over the next five years, the stock market collapsed, banks closed, farm prices fell, and one in four railroads defaulted on its bonds."

The more things change, the more they stay the same!