The 1792 U.S. financial panic was the Panic of 1792, and Alexander Hamilton helped contain it through market intervention.
The panic developed amid speculation in securities issued by the new United States government and uncertainty about the financial position of banks and securities dealers. Sharp selling caused prices to fall and threatened the young nation’s fragile financial system.
As U.S. Treasury secretary, Hamilton arranged government purchases of securities and encouraged banks to provide liquidity. His actions helped restore confidence and limited the spread of the crisis. The episode also contributed to early efforts to regulate securities trading.
The panic occurred only a few years after the U.S. Constitution took effect, making it one of the first major financial crises of the new republic. It should not be confused with later panics in 1819, 1837, 1857, or 1907, each of which had different economic causes and institutional settings.