Those who defended slavery argued that the sudden end to the slave economy would have had a profound and killing economic impact. Did this ever happen? Was this part of the panic of 1873?
Abolition wasn't really a cause of the panic. The larger causes of the panic of 1873 were inflation, over-speculation, effects of war in Europe, and a large trade deficit (http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/beyond-the-textbook/24579).
Also contributing was large property loss; (http://www.history.com/topics/great-chicago-fire) and (http://www.bostonfirehistory.org/firestorygreatfireof1872.html).