Which 1792 U.S. financial panic was linked to speculative trading by William Duer?

The 1792 U.S. financial panic linked to William Duer’s speculative trading was the Panic of 1792.

William Duer, a former government official and prominent financier, borrowed heavily to speculate in securities. When he could not meet his obligations, confidence weakened among lenders and investors. The resulting crisis affected New York’s young securities market and spread through the banking system in March and April 1792.

Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton responded by supporting government securities and encouraging banks to provide liquidity. His actions helped stabilize markets and established an early precedent for federal intervention during a financial emergency. The panic occurred only a few years after the United States created its federal government and before the New York Stock Exchange formally existed. It is therefore best understood as an early securities and credit crisis, not as a modern exchange crash. The event is sometimes confused with the later Panic of 1819, which was driven by different postwar economic pressures.