The Panic of 1819: The First Great Depression

451 Pages·2019·2.449 MB·English

by  Andrew H. Browning

THE PANIC OF 1819

THE PANIC
OF 1819
T H E F I R ST G R E AT D E P R E S S I O N
ANDREW H. BROWNING
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS
Columbia
Publication of this volume has been supported with a gift from the
Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy
Copyright © 2019 by
The Curators of the University of Missouri
University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Missouri 65211
Printed and bound in the United States of America
All rights reserved. First printing, 2019.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Browning, Andrew H., author.
Title: The panic of 1819 : the first great depression / by Andrew H. Browning.
Description: Columbia : University of Missouri Press, 2019. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018043079 (print) | LCCN 2018044145 (ebook) | ISBN
9780826274250 (e-book) | ISBN 9780826221834 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Depressions--History--19th century. | Financial
crises--United States--History--19th century. | United States--Economic
conditions--To 1865. | United States--Economic policy--To 1933.
Classification: LCC HB3717 1819 (ebook) | LCC HB3717 1819 .B76 2019 (print) |
DDC 330.973/054--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018043079
This paper meets the requirements of the
American National Standard for Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, Z39.48, 1984.
Typefaces: Bembo and Frutiger
STUDIES IN CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY
Justin B. Dyer and Jeffrey L. Pasley, Series Editors
The Studies in Constitutional Democracy Series explores the origins and
development of American constitutional and democratic traditions, as well as
their applications and interpretations throughout the world. The often subtle
interaction between constitutionalism’s commitment to the rule of law and
democracy’s emphasis on the rule of the many lies at the heart of this enter-
prise. Bringing together insights from history and political theory, the series
showcases interdisciplinary scholarship that traces constitutional and demo-
cratic themes in American politics, law, society, and culture, with an eye to
both the practical and theoretical implications.
Previous Titles in Studies in Constitutional Democracy
Lloyd Gaines and the Fight to End Segregation
James W. Endersby and William T. Horner
Aristocracy in America: From the Sketch-Book of a German Nobleman
Francis J. Grund
Edited and with an Introduction by Armin Mattes
From Oligarchy to Republicanism: The Great Task of Reconstruction
Forrest A. Nabors
John Henry Wigmore and the Rules of Evidence:
The Hidden Origins of Modern Law
Andrew Porwancher
Bureaucracy in America:
The Administrative State’s Challenge to Constitutional Government
Joseph Postell
The Myth of Coequal Branches:
Restoring the Constitution’s Separation of Functions
David J. Siemers

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 3
Chapter One The Legacy of Napoleon:
Embargo, War, and Peace 17
Chapter Two Three Revolutions:
Market, Transportation, Corporation 49
Chapter Three Volcano Weather 75
Chapter Four Alabama Fever: “I Must Go West and Plant” 103
Chapter Five Bank Expansion: “Frothy Bubbles” 127
Chapter Six Bank Contraction:
“The Axe Must Be Applied to the Root of the Evil” 157
Chapter Seven Hard Times in the East:
“A Long Continuation of Distress” 183
Chapter Eight Hard Times in the West:
“Reflections Which Almost Unmans Me” 217
Chapter Nine Relief? 251
Chapter Ten The Politics of Corruption and the
Corruption of Politics 281
Chapter Eleven A House Dividing:
The Panic of 1819 and the Growth of Sectionalism 321
Notes 361
Bibliography 395
Index 425
vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The idea behind this book gradually took shape over twenty years of teaching
American history. I owe a debt of gratitude to my students in Oregon and
Hawaii for their curiosity, interest, and good will. I also want to acknowl-
edge my partners in teaching American studies over those years: the late
Rosemary Stanberry, Kris Schuberg, and John Schlaefli. William Hausman
and Clyde Haulman of the College of William and Mary offered valuable
encouragement, as did Richard Scylla of NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Daniel Dupre (UNC Charlotte) reviewed the completed manuscript and
made thoughtful recommendations for which I am grateful. The book is
better for all of their suggestions; any errors are my own.
The staffs of a number of libraries and archives helped a great deal with
tracking down obscure books, hard- to- find academic journals, and original
manuscripts. I thank the kind librarians and clerks at the libraries of the Uni-
versity of Arizona, Portland State University, the University of Washington,
Princeton University, and the University of Virginia, as well as those of the
National Archives and the Library of Congress Manuscript Division. During
a stretch when I was a long way from any other library, the excellent staff of
the Jefferson County Library on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula was par-
ticularly helpful with my many interlibrary loan requests.
The maps are the work of Chris Robinson. Those indicating the areas
producing cotton and wheat are based on county- by- county statistics in the
1820 and 1840 censuses.
My editors at the University of Missouri Press have made this a more read-
able book in ways both large and small. I thank Mary Conley, Drew Griffith,
and Barbara Smith- Mandell. In particular, Gary Kass has shown faith in this
project from the start; I am more grateful to him than I can say.
Most of all I want to thank my brother, Jim Browning, whose years of
experience covering the stock market for the Wall Street Journal brought
ix