Panic of 1857 - Results

Results

As a result of the Panic of 1857, the southern economy suffered little whereas the northern economy took a significant hit and made a slow recovery. The area affected the most by the Panic was the Great Lakes region and the troubles of that region were "quickly passed to those enterprises in the East that depended upon western sales." In about a year, much of the economy in the north and the entire south recovered from the Panic. Near the end of the Panic, in about 1859, tensions between the north and south regarding the issue of slavery were increasing. The Panic of 1857 encouraged those in the South who believed idea that the north needed the south to keep a stabilized economy and southern threats of secession were temporarily quelled. Southerners believed the Panic of 1857 made the north "more amenable to southern demands" and would help to keep slavery alive in the United States.