An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 19

Posted on April 7, 2013May 5, 2013 in Daily Blog, TV Shows with 1 Comment.

This is the nineteenth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical TV miniseries titled The Men Who Built America. I’m writing these posts in response to several comments and e-mails from TV viewers who have expressed interest in a more accurate version of the story. (Click here to see all Al’s columns on the program and its subjects.)

Post #19: The Financial Panic of 1873

The 1870’s were a turbulent time for American businesses and workers. A financial panic that started late in 1873 precipitated a depression that sent dozens of banks and railroads into bankruptcy, and started an economic depression.
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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 18

Posted on March 31, 2013May 5, 2013 in Daily Blog, TV Shows with No Comments.

This is the eighteenth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical TV miniseries titled The Men Who Built America. I’m writing these posts in response to several comments and e-mails from TV viewers who have expressed interest in a more accurate version of the story. (Click here to see all Al’s columns on the program and its subjects.)

Post #18: Andrew Carnegie Commits to Steel

Andrew Carnegie had eggs in many baskets in the late 1860’s. He invested his money, time, and considerable management and sales skills in companies that built sleeper cars, telegraph lines, and bridges. He helped found a company that made iron railroad rails and bridge parts. He also made a lot of money selling construction bonds and speculating in railroad stocks.
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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 17

Posted on March 24, 2013May 5, 2013 in Daily Blog, TV Shows with No Comments.

This is the seventeenth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical TV miniseries titled The Men Who Built America. I’m writing these posts in response to several comments and e-mails from TV viewers who have expressed interest in a more accurate version of the story. (Click here to see all Al’s columns on the program and its subjects.)

Post #17: Railroad Economics and Rockefeller Oil

Railroads were an industry where great fortunes were made and lost in post-Civil War America. When Andrew Carnegie resigned his position with the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1865 he was leaving the largest corporation in the world, a company with 30,000 employees and a capitalization of sixty-one million dollars. Cornelius Vanderbilt’s New York Central was not far behind. By the early 1870’s eighty percent of the market capitalization of all American corporations was in railroad companies.

An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 16

Posted on March 17, 2013May 5, 2013 in Daily Blog, TV Shows with 5 Comments.

This is the sixteenth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical TV miniseries titled The Men Who Built America. I’m writing these posts in response to several comments and e-mails from TV viewers who have expressed interest in a more accurate version of the story. (Click here to see all Al’s columns on the program and its subjects.)

Post #16: Carnegie Builds Cars and Bridges

The late 1860’s were a busy time for Andrew Carnegie. As the war was ending Carnegie resigned his position with the Pennsylvania Railroad to focus his energies on a handful of companies, mostly transportation and communication related, in which he held substantial blocks of stock.

An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 15

Posted on March 10, 2013March 17, 2013 in Daily Blog, TV Shows with 1 Comment.

This is the fifteenth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical TV miniseries titled The Men Who Built America. I’m writing these posts in response to several comments and e-mails from TV viewers who have expressed interest in a more accurate version of the story. (Click here to see all Al’s columns on the program and its subjects.)

Post #15: JP Morgan Goes from Riches to Riches

American history is replete with inspiring stories of people who grew up in poverty or near-poverty and went on to achieve great financial success. John Pierpont Morgan’s story is not one of these.
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