The 1792 U.S. financial panic that briefly disrupted early securities trading was called the Panic of 1792.
The panic occurred in March and April 1792, only a few years after the United States established its federal government. Speculators had driven up the prices of securities, including debt issued by the new government and shares of the First Bank of the United States. When confidence weakened, prices fell rapidly and credit became difficult to obtain.
The crisis was closely associated with William Duer and Alexander Macomb, whose borrowing and speculation helped intensify the collapse. The panic spread through financial markets in New York and Philadelphia, then the country’s leading commercial centers.
Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton helped contain the emergency by arranging government support for the securities market and encouraging banks to resume lending. The episode is often described as the first major financial crisis under the U.S. Constitution, rather than a modern nationwide stock-market crash.