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The Men Who Built AmericaA new HISTORY series profiles the men whose imagination, daring, foresight--and some shenanigans--made the United States the economic power it is today.The Men Who Built AmericaPOSTED BY: Kim Gilmore September 04, 20123 All eyes were on the elephant as it ambled across the St. Louis Bridge. The longest arch bridge in the world at the time, it stretched gracefully across the Mississippi River. The pageantry that accompanied the completion of the spectacular structure was matched with an equal amount of anxiety. Careers and reputations, not to mention lives, were on the line through the construction process. Over budget and months past its deadline, the bridge was among the most massive American construction projects to date. When it officially opened in 1874, less than a decade after the end of the Civil War, the bridge was important both practically and symbolically. The success of such projects could show that the United States was back, and open for business.The man who provided the steel for the bridge, Andrew Carnegie, was a rising industrialist. His reputation seemedlike it might rise or fall on the outcome of the project. With so many people skeptical of such a massive bridge, the “test elephant” was sent across to bring peace of mind to the American public that its structure was sound. The elephant survived the test—and so, too, did Carnegie. He would go on to become one of the nation’s foremost business tycoons, having transformed himself from a young Scottish immigrant to a corporate leader and philanthropist whose name still echoes prominently throughout Americansociety today.
At the end of the Civil War the nation was in tatters, both financially and psychologically. Both North and South had poured resources into the war effort, draining the economy, not to mention the optimistic spirit, of the nation. The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, just days after the end of the war, dealt another blow to the American psyche. The nation mourned too many of its sons, and now, its president. Given this state of affairs, some would have predicted a deep national decline would follow. How, then, in the course of just a few decades after the war, did the United States become one of the world’s leading economic and political superpowers? The Men Who Built America, a new series premiering on HISTORY in October, captures the astonishing growth of the United States in the wake of the Civil War, attributing this amazing industrial and national expansion to the prowess and grit of a handful of men: Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Morgan, Frick, and Ford. Their names resonate throughout our society today, a testimony to the power and reach of the companies they built. Now, for the first time, viewers can see how exactly these men forged a nation from the ashes of Civil War, buoyed by their own determination to compete, take chances, and consolidate power. While their individual stories have been told many times over, this series explores the deep connections between these men, showing the behind-the-scenes deals and unexpected links that united—and, at times, divided—them in their thirst for success.The story starts in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt, who already had amassed a fortune through hisShipping and transportation businesses by the mid-1840s, was determined to continue to grow his wealth and connect the nation through expansion of the Railroads. He had slowly been buying up small railroad systems in the 1860s. By 1870, he had consolidated the New York and Hudson River Railroads, creating one of the nation’slargest corporations. Vanderbilt’s control of the railroad industry was not without conflict. In fact, it was a powerful example of the ruthlessness of competition among American industrial leaders. Vanderbilt’s might was matched by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. Born in 1839, the much-younger Rockefeller had built an enormously successful oil business by the 1860s. As it became clear that their business interests were connected, Vanderbilt tried to play hardball with Rockefeller by charging steep pricesto ship oil on his trains. Rockefeller famously took a trip to New York to see Vanderbilt in person. He boldly demanded that Vanderbilt keep rates reasonable or lose his valuable business, among other imperatives. The two struck a deal, paving the way forboth companies to flourish. In 1870, Rockefeller formed what would become one of the nation’s most prosperous corporations, the Standard Oil Company.The intense competition to control the railroad industry took a bitter turn when Vanderbilt tried to buy up shares of the Erie Railway Company after a disagreement with the company’s treasurer, Daniel Drew. Vanderbilt was incensed to learn that two Erie board members, Jay Gould and James Fisk, had undercut his plans by issuing “watered stock.” The extra stockwas forbidden by state laws that put limits on the amount of stock a company could issue. Vanderbilt sued, eventually