The U.S. financial crisis that began in 1837 after years of speculation was the Panic of 1837.
The panic followed a speculative boom in land, cotton, and other assets. President Andrew Jackson's Specie Circular required payment for federal land in gold or silver, while the Bank of England reduced lending and demand for American exports weakened. These pressures helped drain specie from U.S. banks and tightened credit.
On May 10, 1837, banks in New York City suspended the conversion of paper money into gold and silver. Bank failures, business closures, falling prices, and unemployment followed. The depression lasted for years and affected both the United States and parts of Canada.
The crisis is sometimes linked only to Jackson's banking policies, but historians generally describe several interacting causes. The Panic of 1837 also differs from the Panic of 1857, which was associated with railroad speculation and the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company.