New York City was the center of the 1907 financial panic before J. P. Morgan organized a rescue.
The panic began after a failed attempt to corner the stock of United Copper Company. Depositors then rushed to withdraw funds from trust companies connected to the speculators, and confidence weakened across New York’s financial system. The crisis intensified because the United States had no modern central bank to provide emergency liquidity.
J. P. Morgan, working with other bankers and government officials, helped organize private support for threatened institutions. He used his library and offices as meeting places while demanding information and commitments from banks seeking assistance. The emergency eventually eased, but the episode exposed weaknesses in the country’s financial structure.
The Panic of 1907 helped inspire the creation of the Federal Reserve System in 1913. New York was the main center of the crisis, although its effects spread through banks, businesses, and markets across the United States.