The U.S. financial panic considered America’s first stock-market crash was the Panic of 1792.
The episode developed in the young United States after rapid speculation in securities, including government debt and shares of the First Bank of the United States. William Duer and Alexander Macomb borrowed heavily to speculate, and their failures helped trigger a loss of confidence and a rush to sell.
Prices fell sharply in March and April 1792, producing a liquidity crisis in New York and Philadelphia. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton responded by supporting banks and arranging purchases of government securities. His intervention helped restore confidence and limited the damage.
The Panic of 1792 is important because it showed how quickly credit, speculation, and interconnected markets could transmit distress in the new republic. It predates later crises such as the Panics of 1819 and 1837, which were larger and more deeply tied to nationwide economic contractions.