Jackson groomed Martin van Buren as his successor, and he was easily elected president in 1836. However, a few months into his administration, the country fell into a deep economic slump known as the Panic of 1837, caused in large part by excessive speculation. Banks failed and unemployment soared. It was a devastating economic and social Catastrophe that can be compared with the panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of 1929. event with repercussions every bit as deep as the Great Depression of the 1930s. There was an international dimension, for much of the growth In the private sector, as well as infrastructure investment by state governments (especially canals) had been financed by British capital. Several states and corporations defaulted permanently on their debts owed to London. Investment in America became a dubious proposition for Europeans, so American access to capital sharply declined for decades.