The Panic of 1792 was the financial panic triggered by William Duer’s failed speculation in U.S. government securities.
Duer, a former Treasury official, borrowed heavily to buy securities and finance speculative ventures. When lenders demanded repayment and confidence weakened, he could not meet his obligations. His failure helped spark bank runs and a sharp decline in securities prices in New York and Philadelphia during March and April 1792.
The episode threatened the young United States’ financial system, which was still developing under Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton responded by arranging government purchases of securities and encouraging banks to expand lending, helping restore confidence. The actions are often regarded as an early example of central-bank-style crisis management, although the First Bank of the United States was not a modern central bank.
This panic is sometimes confused with later nineteenth-century crises, but it occurred only a few years after the U.S. Constitution took effect and was one of the country’s first major financial shocks.