The Panic of 1837 was the US banking crisis followed by a severe depression lasting roughly five years.
The panic began in May 1837 when banks in New York suspended payments in gold and silver. The immediate crisis reflected a combination of speculative lending, falling cotton prices, international financial pressure, and President Andrew Jackson’s policies toward federal banking. Jackson’s Specie Circular had also required payment for federal land in hard money, contributing to pressure on banks and borrowers.
Banks failed, businesses closed, and unemployment rose sharply. The downturn continued through the early 1840s, making it one of the longest economic contractions in nineteenth-century America. Martin Van Buren became president shortly before the panic and was closely associated with efforts to respond to it.
The event is not the same as the Panic of 1819 or the Panic of 1857. Its central banking and currency disputes also helped fuel the creation of the Independent Treasury system in 1840.