The 1792 Panic That Built Wall Street

This episode of The Economic History Podcast dives into America's first financial crisis—the Panic of 1792—and how it shaped the young nation's banking system. Lucas and Luna explore the role of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, the speculative bubble in bank stocks, and the crash that nearly destroyed the new federal government. They unpack the origins of the Bank of the United States, the role of William Duer's insider trading, and how Hamilton's decisive intervention—buying government securities to inject liquidity—effectively created the blueprint for modern central bank crisis management. The episode draws parallels to later panics and asks whether Hamilton's playbook still works in the 21st century. Specific numbers include the $2.5 million market drop, the 15 percent plunge in bank shares, and the 100,000 government bonds Hamilton purchased to stabilize markets. Listeners will come away understanding why the Panic of 1792 is the forgotten template for every financial rescue from 1907 to 2008. #EconomicHistory #PanicOf1792 #AlexanderHamilton #WilliamDuer #WallStreetOrigins #BankOfTheUnitedStates #FinancialCrisis #CentralBanking #LiquidityCrisis #SpeculativeBubble #InsiderTrading #TreasuryDepartment #USHistory #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #PodcastEpisode #FinancialHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo