Virginia and the Panic of 1819: The First Great Depression and the Commonwealth (Financial History)

The Panic of 1819 was America's first experience of the boom-bust cycle and the subsequent depression was one of the most dramatic economic crises experienced by the US during the nineteenth century. Focusing on the Commonwealth of Virginia, Haulman analyzes the economic conditions which contributed to the boom, the pressures which caused the Panic, the characteristics of the ensuing depression and its impacts on Virginia and the nation. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the American economy, and especially Virginia's, was boosted by booming agricultural exports and transatlantic trade, which in turn lead to intense land speculation westwards. Boosted by easy credit from state banks and the newly created Second Bank of the United States, the boom came to an end as foreign markets dried up, prices fell and credit was withdrawn. America had a rude awakening to the rigours of the globalized market economy. Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 8 List of Charts and Tables......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 1. The Economic Origins of the Panic of 1819......Page 20 2. An Overview of the Panic of 1819......Page 38 3. Banking and Government Finance......Page 52 4. Agricultre, Exports and Land......Page 70 5. Business......Page 86 6. Poor Relief......Page 116 7. The Aftermath of the Panic......Page 150 Notes......Page 166 Bibliography......Page 190 Index......Page 206 Argues that the Panic of 1819 was America's first experience with a modern boom-bust cycle, and most importantly, much more than a banking panic resulting from the mismanagement of the newly created second Bank of the United States and a number of state chartered banks.