The 1857 US financial panic was triggered in part by the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company.
Ohio Life had expanded credit and invested in railroad-related assets. When its New York office failed in August 1857, the disclosure damaged confidence in banks and other financial institutions, causing depositors and investors to demand cash.
The collapse spread through railroads, land markets, and banks. The failure of the SS Central America in September, which carried gold from California, further reduced available liquidity and intensified the shock.
The panic occurred before the American Civil War and affected both the United States and parts of Europe. It differed from the Panic of 1837, although both followed speculative expansions and credit reversals.