MANILA, Philippines - Industries weren’t discovered. They were built. Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Astor, Ford and Morgan — these are the men who built it and their names have become synonymous with the American dream. The Innovators: The Men Who Built America, premiering tonight at 9 on History and airing every Wednesday thereafter, chronicles how these great minds succeeded in actualizing their vision for the nation.
First episode A New War Begins follows Cornelius Vanderbilt, an industrialist and philanthropist who was the first to see the need for unity for America to regain stature in the world. He sells his shipping empire to invest everything in railroads.
Vanderbilt soon expands the industry further in the second episode, Oil Strike, which airs on March 20. The demand for oil is sky-high and Vanderbilt knows that oil can fill his trains. He turns to John Rockefeller, a young maverick oilman from Ohio, to do just that.
Third episode A Rivalry is Born screens on March 27, where Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie becomes part of the business. After immigrating to the States with his parents, Carnegie begins working at age 12 and finds a patron and mentor in railroad executive Tom Scott.
By age 30, while already running his own business, Scott hires him to build a bridge over the Mississippi river to link East and West in a way never before thought possible by train. Carnegie agrees, but has yet to find how he can build a strong enough bridge. His doubt is quelled when he finds his solution: Steel. Carnegie eventually leads the steel industry into enormous expansion.
The Innovators also profiles the millions of American workers, from the steel mills of Pennsylvania to the assembly lines of Detroit, whose dreams were turned into reality.
History is available on SKYCable Ch 67; Cable Link Ch. 44; Dream Satellite Ch 30; Destiny Cable Ch 57.