The U.S. financial crisis in 1907 that began after a failed attempt to corner United Copper Company stock was the Panic of 1907.
The speculation was led by F. Augustus Heinze and his associates, who tried to force a short squeeze in United Copper shares. When the plan failed, depositors rushed to withdraw money from banks connected to the group. The withdrawals spread to trust companies in New York, especially the Knickerbocker Trust Company.
J. Pierpont Morgan organized emergency support for banks and financial institutions, helping prevent a complete collapse. The crisis exposed weaknesses in the American banking system, which lacked a modern central bank.
The panic helped create political support for the Federal Reserve System, established in 1913. It is sometimes confused with the Panic of 1893, another severe U.S. banking and railroad crisis, but the two events occurred in different decades.