The Panic of 1819 was the first significant economic crisis in the United States and led to failed banks, property foreclosures, and widespread suffering in Alabama. Huntsville's Planters and Merchants Bank, founded by the Broad River Group in 1816, faced threats to their operations, and many other banks failed. The Planters and Merchants Bank survived until its charter was voided in 1825 by Gov. Israel Pickens.
