Can someone link me to, or better yet, explain to me what exactly caused the Panic of 1837? I know a little bit about it, but I don't really have a grip on it like I do the Panic of 1819. Could someone help me out?
Similarly, what was the Independent Treasury under van Buren... and why did it fail?
My personal Anarcho-Capitalist flag. The symbol in the center stands for "harmony" and "protection"-- I'm hoping to illustrate the bond between order/justice and anarchy.
This was originally published somewhere on this site (I believe it was a working paper), but I posted it here: The Panic of 1837 and the Contraction of 1839-43, by Scott Trask. I believe that Rothbard also covers it (and this is Trask's main source, I believe) in A History of Money and Banking in the United States.
I remember Rothbard handling it in A History of Money and Banking as well. I just only vaguely remember what he said (I still need to buy the book). Something about an increase in the amount of specie (namely silver) because Mexicans were trying to trade away all their silver to America (where it was legal tender) and also that they traded less silver with China (more preoccupied with opium). I don't really remember what effect that all had. I simply recall that passage.
Thank you for the link. :)
For the time being, the PDF is here: http://mises.org/books/historyofmoney.pdf
Relevant are pages 90 through 102.
Senator Benton who was there in 1837:--
http://www.yamaguchy.netfirms.com/7897401/benton/benton_list.html