Panic of 1792
The Panic of 1792 was the first US securities-market crash, after a leveraged attempt to corner federal debt, and the first Treasury-led lender-of-last-resort operation under Hamilton.
Definition
William Duer and allies levered purchases of US six-percent debt. When funding rolled off, prices gaped and a chain of brokers failed. Hamilton used open-market purchases and coordinated bank credit to backstop the market without a full bailout of Duer.
Why it matters
It is the US original of ‘do not let a corner take the Treasury market down.’ The policy template — buy the asset, not the speculator — still shows up.
Case
Prices of federal debt fell sharply in March 1792 and recovered as Hamilton’s purchases and bank coordination landed. Duer died in prison.
How to read it
Separate the corner from the public credit. Saving the market-making function is not the same as making Duer whole.
Key papers
Landmark references with real publisher or arXiv links — not token-overlap noise.
- The First Crash: Lessons from the Panic of 1792Sylla, Wright, Cowen · 2009 · Journal of Economic HistoryHamilton as LOLR.