The Panic of 1907 was the U.S. financial crisis sparked by a failed attempt to corner United Copper stock.
In October 1907, speculators F. Augustus Heinze and Charles W. Morse tried to manipulate United Copper shares. When the plan failed, depositors rushed to withdraw money from banks connected with the speculators. The withdrawals spread through trust companies in New York.
J. P. Morgan organized emergency support for banks and trust companies, helping prevent a broader collapse. The panic exposed weaknesses in the U.S. banking system, which had no central bank at the time. The crisis helped build support for the Federal Reserve System, created in 1913. It is sometimes confused with the later Panic of 1914, which followed the outbreak of World War I.