The economy freaks out over the darndest things!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

1. The Panic of 1873: America stops horsing around

During the late 19th century, the American economy relied on horses the way it depends on gas today. Horses unloaded cargo from ports, transported goods from city to city, worked the farms, supported the army, and served as the emergency vehicles of choice. Without them, the American workforce would have ground to a halt.

And that's exactly what happened in 1872, when an estimated 99 percent of all horses in America contracted equine influenza. The highly contagious strain started in Canada and spread through New England to the South in a matter of months, leaving horses across the country too weak to stand and coughing uncontrollably.

Street buggies stopped running, paralyzing commerce in the cities. Railroads were stymied because trains run on coal -- coal that was hauled out of mines by horses. And as the horse flu spread, U.S. military troops had to go into battle on foot.

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The "Great Epizootic," as it was called, spiraled out of control in less than a year. At the height of the panic, as many as 20,000 businesses failed, a third of all railroads went bankrupt, and unemployment spiked to almost 15 percent. The economy took nearly a decade to recover. Ironically, nearly all of the horses recuperated by the following spring.

2. The Winter of 1886: When the cows don't come home

During the second half of the 19th century, cattle ranches in the American West were thriving. From the Montana grasslands to the Texas prairie, ranches were attracting investors back East and across the pond in Europe. But by 1886, things were getting dicey. Overgrazing, coupled with a hot and dry summer, had left the plains almost bare.

Then came the snow. Known as the "Winter of Death," the following season saw one of the worst cold spells in recorded history. More than half the cattle in the West froze to death, unable to move in the thick snow.

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By the end of 1887, the disaster had wiped out more than half of the United States' western cattle and debilitated the national economy. Most cattle investors went bankrupt, and thousands of cowboys were left unemployed.

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3. The Panic of 1907: Captains of industry to the rescue!

Multimillionaire Augustus Heinze, who had made his fortune mining in Montana, believed he had enough control over the copper industry to corner the market.

With the help of several major banks, he concocted a scheme to buy up all the shares of United Copper. But Heinze had overestimated his prowess, and the scheme failed, bringing down Heinze, United Copper, the banks, and many, many stockholders.

The debacle sent ripples of anxiety throughout the market, and investors started pulling their money out of banks altogether. After one of New York City's biggest trusts went under, panic ensued, and the stock market collapsed.

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James Pierpont Morgan, banker extraordinaire, rescued the American economy. He propped up many of the failing banks in New York by twisting the arms of other financiers, and he assuaged investors' fears by backing up the market with his own vast cash reserves. Before long, Wall Street was on the mend.

The government also learned its lesson. With the panic resolved, it created the Federal Reserve, ensuring that it could buttress the economy during hard times. Since then, the government has taken a more active role in financial matters and relied less on the kindness of robber barons.

4. Whale of a Crisis: The collapse of America's first oil industry

During the early 19th century, America was one of the top oil-producing countries in the world. But it wasn't petroleum the nation was exporting; it was whale oil.

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At its height, the American whaling industry produced more than 10 million gallons of oil a year and sold it for $1.77 a gallon (about $35 per gallon today). Better still, an American fleet of 1,000 ships had exclusive access to the North Atlantic territories, which ensured profits.

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In 1846, Canadian geologist Abraham Gesner developed a technique for distilling kerosene from petroleum, and within a few decades, kerosene had replaced whale oil as the most popular fuel for lamps.

Another reason for the decline was that the whales were dying off. The enthusiastic slaughter throughout the 1800s drove some whale species to extinction and put others on the brink. With so few left to hunt, the cost of whaling became prohibitively expensive.

The final blow to whalers came during the harsh winter of 1871, when the North Atlantic ice trapped and crushed the bulk of the American fleet.

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Coastal towns in New England and the Mid-Atlantic languished, and shipbuilders and fishermen found themselves out of work.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/0...tory/index.html

[Jasman0717 9]

At its height, the American whaling industry produced more than 10 million gallons of oil a year and sold it for $1.77 a gallon (about $35 per gallon today). Better still, an American fleet of 1,000 ships had exclusive access to the North Atlantic territories, which ensured profits.

We are going to look pretty stupid when we find out whales are much more intelligent than humans

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

At its height, the American whaling industry produced more than 10 million gallons of oil a year and sold it for $1.77 a gallon (about $35 per gallon today). Better still, an American fleet of 1,000 ships had exclusive access to the North Atlantic territories, which ensured profits.

We are going to look pretty stupid when we find out whales are much more intelligent than humans

?

[Jasman0717 9]

At its height, the American whaling industry produced more than 10 million gallons of oil a year and sold it for $1.77 a gallon (about $35 per gallon today). Better still, an American fleet of 1,000 ships had exclusive access to the North Atlantic territories, which ensured profits.

We are going to look pretty stupid when we find out whales are much more intelligent than humans

?

OOphs, wrong movie