The blow, when it fell, was intensified by the relative contraction of currency then in progress, leading to the return to a specie basis and lower prices.[5] The crisis of 1884, a comparatively slight one, occasioned (rather than caused) by the discussion of the money question, was followed by some years of noticeable depression.

The years 1889 to 1892 witnessed prosperity, only slightly interrupted in 1890, that culminated in a crisis in May, 1893 (likewise generally explained as due to the unsettled state of our monetary system), followed by a period of great depression lasting until 1897.

A rapid growth of business was checked but little in 1900 when a crisis occurred in Europe, especially severe in Germany.

In November, 1902, began in America what has been called "the rich man's panic" of 1903 in which for a year many securities were sold by holders because European creditors were recalling their loans.
American business, however, slackened but little, altho building operations were somewhat checked.

General prices, which had been moving upward since 1897, remained almost unchanged in 1903 and 1904, and then continued going upward until 1907.