The 1792 U.S. financial panic that followed speculation in government securities was the Panic of 1792.
The crisis developed in the young United States during a period of intense speculation in bank shares and government securities. William Duer and Alexander Macomb borrowed heavily to buy securities, while other speculators attempted to drive prices higher. When lenders demanded repayment and confidence broke, selling spread rapidly.
The panic reached New York and Philadelphia, the country’s leading financial centers. The Bank of the United States and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton helped calm the market by purchasing securities and supplying liquidity. These actions are often described as an early example of a central-government response to a financial crisis.
The Panic of 1792 predates the better-known nineteenth-century panics. It is sometimes overlooked because the U.S. financial system was still small, but it established an important pattern: leveraged speculation, falling prices, forced sales, and emergency support could interact to amplify a market shock.