The US stock-market collapse that began in 1837 was called the Panic of 1837.
The panic began in May 1837 when banks in New York City suspended payments in gold and silver. A speculative boom in land, cotton, and state-backed banks had expanded credit, while President Andrew Jackson’s policies and falling cotton prices weakened the financial system. Bank failures quickly spread across the United States.
The event was more than a single trading-day crash. It produced a severe economic contraction, widespread business failures, unemployment, and falling prices. The downturn lasted for several years and is often described as a depression rather than merely a brief panic.
It is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1819 or the Panic of 1857. Those were separate US financial crises, although all three involved bank failures, credit contraction, and speculative excesses.