The Men Who Built America

The Men Who Built America focuses on the lives of five self-made entrepreneurs responsible for the rise of the United States as a manufacturing giant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Produced in eight parts, the series examines how Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan, and Henry Ford — all of whom came from modest beginnings — helped change the world.

Beginning in 1865, just after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the series first explores how Cornelius Vanderbilt helped lead the United States into the industrial age by creating a railroad empire. Each man’s respective enterprise, including John D. Rockefeller’s oil business, J. P. Morgan’s financial operations, and Henry Ford’s manufacturing innovations that made cars accessible to the masses, drove technological progress and helped shape the American Dream. The episodes also highlight how these men collaborated with other entrepreneurs and influenced the politics of their time.