The Long Depression | 1873 - 1893 . Did you know that there have been two ‘great depressions’ in the last 150 years in the United States? . In fact, they were both called ‘great depressions’, the only difference was the first from 1873 to 1893 was a 20 year depression with 65 months (or 5 1/2 years) of negative growth, and the second from 1929 to 1939, was a 10 year depression with 43 months (or 3 1/2 years of negative growth). . Since they both had the same name, historians decided to rename th