The 1837 U.S. financial crisis that followed a speculative boom was the Panic of 1837.
The panic began in May 1837 when banks in New York suspended payments in gold and silver. Land speculation, unstable credit, falling cotton prices, and international financial pressures had weakened the economy. President Andrew Jackson’s banking policies, including the Specie Circular, also formed part of the political and financial background.
The crisis caused bank failures, business closures, unemployment, and falling prices. Its effects lasted for years and are commonly associated with the economic depression that followed. Martin Van Buren, who became president in March 1837, faced the crisis and later supported the Independent Treasury system.
The Panic of 1837 is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1819 or the Panic of 1857. Those were separate U.S. financial crises with different immediate triggers and political contexts.