The 1837 U.S. financial panic was the Panic of 1837.
The crisis began in May 1837 when banks in New York City suspended payments in gold and silver. A combination of speculative land purchases, falling cotton prices, reduced international investment, and monetary disputes had weakened the economy. Bank failures spread, businesses closed, and unemployment rose across the United States.
President Martin Van Buren took office shortly before the panic and faced the political consequences of the prolonged depression that followed. The downturn lasted for years, making it one of the most severe economic contractions in the country before the Civil War.
Historians debate the relative importance of federal policies, international conditions, and the collapse of speculation. The panic is often linked to President Andrew Jackson’s Specie Circular, which required payment for federal land in gold or silver, but no single cause explains the entire crash.