New York’s stock exchange was central to the Panic of 1907.
The Panic of 1907 began after a failed attempt to corner shares of United Copper Company triggered a run on the Knickerbocker Trust Company in New York. Depositors withdrew funds from other trust companies, and fear spread through the financial system.
The New York Stock Exchange fell sharply, while banks and businesses struggled to obtain liquidity. With no U.S. central bank yet in existence, financier J. P. Morgan organized private assistance and persuaded banks to support threatened institutions.
The panic exposed weaknesses in the U.S. banking system and helped build political support for reform. The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913. The event is sometimes called the Knickerbocker Panic, after the trust company whose failure became a major turning point.