U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for September 20

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20: 1873 FINANCIAL PANIC

Profile America — Tuesday, September 20th.  The serious recent financial problems involving raising the national debt may seem unique.  Most of us were either not born or too young to understand the huge impact of the Great Depression of the 1930s.  That name was first applied to the financial crisis of 1873, now called the long Depression.  It started because of a collapse in the demand for silver in Europe and spread around the world.  In the U.S., banks failed, railroads went bankrupt, factories closed and unemployment soared.  The chaos caused the New York Stock Exchange to close for 10 days on this date that year.  While hotly debated, the U.S. remained on the gold standard.  Currently, the U.S. has $11 billion in gold stock held in reserve.  Profile America is in its 15th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 472

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 1289

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).  

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau