The press dwelled on the news for months, speculating about the cause of the tragedy and calling for investigations. The news of the Central America tragedy also fanned the sparks of a financial crisis. The United States was in a recession during most of the 1850s, a recession that grew worse in August, 1857 when the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company failed, leaving vast debts. Banks that had loaned money to Ohio Life found themselves overextended. Depositors demanded payment in gold from banks and the domino effect set in. Bankers were concerned about their solvency and had high hopes that the expected gold shipment aboard the Central America would ease the economic pressure. The shipwreck dashed those hopes and the Panic of 1857 took hold, ruining many men and businesses.
"Suddenly,
the same monitors that had revealed nothing but colorless ocean terrain for
weeks now appeared to be painted a brilliant gold. These weren't bricks, but
ingots everywhere...stacked on the bottom like brownies... stacked like loaves
of bread...spectacular gold bridges of gold ingots piled on top of timbers
and spread over the ocean floor."
Tommy Thompson
America's Lost Treasure
