The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that triggered a severe economic depression lasting until the mid-1840s. Bank failures, collapsing land prices, and widespread unemployment swept the nation. The economic hardship, particularly in the Eastern states, became a major push factor for westward migration, as many Americans sought to escape debt and poverty by starting anew in Oregon, California, and other western territories. This economic upheaval significantly contributed to the surge in overland emigration on the Oregon and California Trails.

The Panic of 1837 and the subsequent westward migration are key elements in the literature of the American frontier, providing the economic backdrop for many pioneer narratives. The financial desperation that drove families west is a recurring theme in the journals and diaries of the overland trail, which later inspired works of historical fiction and poetry. The panic is often depicted as the economic catalyst for the great migration, a theme explored in works like Willa Cather's 'My Ántonia' and other regionalist literature.