In a modern financial crisis, the world turns to central banks and governments for a rescue. But what happens when the government is powerless? In 1907, a failed stock scheme spiraled into a full-blown panic, causing a massive market crash and a run on the nation's banks. With no Federal Reserve to stop the bleeding, the entire U.S. economy teetered on the brink of collapse.

In this episode of Monday Madness, Stephen and Leah tell the incredible story of how one private citizen, the powerful and imposing banker J.P. Morgan, stepped into the void. Discover how he transformed his private library into the nation's command center, summoned the country's top financiers, and physically locked them in a room, refusing to let them leave until they agreed to fund a bailout. It’s a wild story of a time when the fate of the American economy rested entirely in the hands of one unelected man.

Federal Reserve History | The Panic of 1907  https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/panic-of-1907

J.P. Morgan & Co. The Panic of 1907 

https://www.jpmorgan.com/about-us/our-history/panic-of-1907

The National Bureau of Economic Research

The Financial Panic of 1907: The J.P. Morgan Years | https://www.nber.org/digest/mar06/financial-panic-1907-jp-morgan-years