The 1792 US financial panic was called the Panic of 1792, the first major financial crisis to affect the new United States.
The panic grew from speculative trading in securities, especially government debt and bank shares. William Duer and Alexander Macomb borrowed heavily to buy securities, while other speculators attempted to drive prices upward. When confidence weakened, borrowers struggled to obtain funds and rushed to sell.
The crisis reached New York in March 1792 and again in August. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton responded with measures that included government purchases of securities and assurances intended to restore confidence. These actions helped stabilize markets and established an early example of federal intervention during a financial emergency.
The episode occurred before the New York Stock Exchange existed in its later organized form. Trading took place through informal networks and under the Buttonwood Agreement’s emerging market structure. That distinction makes the Panic of 1792 an important predecessor to later, more familiar US stock-market crashes.