Historedia
AmericasEvent

J. P. Morgan and Rothschilds gold loan saves the U.S. Treasury reserve

When
1895
Where
U.S. Treasury
Episodes
1

In February 1895, during the aftermath of the Panic of 1893, J. P. Morgan intervened to save the U.S. Treasury's gold reserve. He demanded a meeting with President Grover Cleveland, warning that the government could default that day. Morgan then devised a plan, using an old Civil War statute, under which he and the Rothschilds sold 3.5 million ounces of gold directly to the United States government, bailing it out during the crisis.

Episodes

  1. February 1895 · U.S. TreasuryGold Loan Syndicate

    Morgan and the Rothschilds organized a gold sale to the U.S. government via a Civil War statute, rescuing the Treasury reserve during the Panic of 1893.

Background and detail

Background. The Panic of 1893 caused a severe run on gold from the United States Treasury. By February 2, 1895, reserves had fallen to approximately $42 million, well below the $100 million level required by the Resumption Act of 1875. This crisis prompted J. P. Morgan to intervene, claiming the government could default if immediate action was not taken.

Syndicate Formation. Morgan came up with a plan to use an old Civil War statute that allowed Morgan and the Rothschilds to sell 3.5 million ounces of gold directly to the U.S. government. This arrangement formed the core of the rescue of the Treasury reserve during the Panic of 1893, in which Morgan bailed out the U.S. government in 1895.

People involved

Sources

  1. J. P. Morgan Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-09
  2. Panic of 1893 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-12

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.