 For the first half of Letcher's term, the state was still struggling to recover from the financial Panic of 1837.Consistent with his Whig views, Letcher blamed the crisis on the federal government's failure to recharter the Second Bank of the United States.To ameliorate the state's dire financial situation, Letcher drastically cut spending, including the suspension of turnpike construction and improvements on the Green, Kentucky, and Licking rivers.