Definition of The Long Depression



What was the "Long Depression"?

The "Long Depression" used to be known as the "Great Depression".

Once the depression that started in 1929 hit, the original "Great Depression" was renamed the "Long Depression".

photo from the long depression -  people lining up for food and jobsThe "Long Depression" started in October of 1873, and lasted until March of 1879.

The National Bureau of Economic Research states that this is the longest recession on record, EVER. This recession lasted a total of 65 months.

This particular depression lasted much longer in other parts of the world - some countries are not believed to have started to recover until the late 1890s. Several European countries, including the United Kingdom, were particularly hard hit.

What was the cause of the "Long Depression"?

Scholars argue over this question, but many point to the collapse of the Vienna Stock Exchange as the tipping point. Just like our current recession/depression, there were many contributing factors to the weakness seen across the world - the Franco-Prussian war, the Treaty of Frankfurt and the United States' monetary policy at the time were all seen as contributing factors.

Many scholars do not even believe that the "Long Depression" qualified as a depression at all. There is no clear consensus.

The "Long Depression" came to an end in the United States in the late 1870s, only to be followed by another major crash in 1893.

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