The 1792 US financial panic that followed Alexander Macomb's failed speculation and a credit contraction was the Panic of 1792.
Macomb attempted to buy large areas of land using borrowed money, but the plan failed when financing and payments broke down. The resulting pressure spread through banks and securities markets, where credit was already highly leveraged.
The crisis affected the young United States only a few years after the federal government began operating under the Constitution. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton responded with measures intended to restore confidence and support market liquidity.
The panic helped establish the importance of coordinated financial intervention. It also led to stronger oversight of securities trading in New York, contributing to the formation of the Buttonwood-era market structure.