J. P. Morgan was the central private figure in stabilizing U.S. markets during the Panic of 1907.
The panic began after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company triggered runs on trust companies and banks. The crisis spread through the financial system, and the United States had no modern central bank to provide the kind of emergency liquidity later associated with a central bank.
J. P. Morgan gathered bankers in New York, examined institutions' finances, arranged support, and helped coordinate private lending. His interventions helped prevent a wider collapse, although government officials and other financiers also played important roles.
The panic exposed weaknesses in the U.S. banking system. The Aldrich–Vreeland Act of 1908 created a framework for emergency currency, and the Federal Reserve System was established in 1913. Morgan's role is therefore linked to the crisis, but he did not act alone and did not create the Federal Reserve.