TV Shows

An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 9

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This is the nineth 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 #9: Carnegie is Hired by Thomas Scott

Young Andrew Carnegie continued to distinguish himself among the other telegram boys with his work habbits and his ever-increasing skills. The office manager gave him a raise and put him in charge of distributing the messages between the other boys. More promotions and raises would follow.
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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 8

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This is the eighth 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 #8: Carnegie’s Childhood.

Andrew Carnegie was born in a small town in Scotland in November of 1835. His parents didn’t put him in school until he was eight years old, and when they did the cheapest school in town was all they could afford. There was only one teacher, and the class size varied between 150 and 180 students during the four or five years he was able to attend. When his family left Scotland his school days ended; from then on he would have to educate himself in what little spare time was available to a child who worked sixty hours a week in a sweatshop.
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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 7

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This is the seventh 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 #7: Vanderbilt Focuses on Rail

During the late 1850’s and early ’60’s Vanderbilt shifted his attention from the shipping industry to railroads. He bought large blocks of stock in several New York area railroads, often securing positions on the boards of directors. As in all his other ventures, Vanderbilt waited until other men had proven the profit-making potential of the industry before he plunged in.
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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 6

Posted on in Daily Blog, TV Shows with No Comments.

This is the sixth 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 #6: Vanderbilt Crosses the Atlantic

In April of 1855, in the middle of his feud with Garrison and Morgan, Vanderbilt announced the opening of a trans-Atlantic ship line. He called it the European Line. His ongoing fight over Accessory Transit may have made the Commodore a little gun-shy about publicly traded companies; he created the European Line as a private company. Although the great majority of Atlantic traffic was still being carried by sailing ships at that time, Vanderbilt focused exclusively on steamships.

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An Accurate Account of the “Men Who Built America” Part 5

Posted on in Daily Blog, TV Shows with No Comments.

This is the fifth in my series of posts about the five businessmen the History Channel profiled in a terribly inaccurate and un-historical 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 #5: Vanderbilt to Traitors: “I Will Ruin You” 

In 1835, the year Andrew Carnegie was born in Scotland, Vanderbilt started offering steamboat service up Long Island Sound from New York City to Providence, Rhode Island, in anticipation of the completion of a railroad from Providence to Boston later that year. His competitor for this business was the Boston and New York Transportation Company, which operated six small steamboats in the Sound. This time, instead of launching into a price war, Vanderbilt decided to collude with the competition to keep prices high. He and the B&NY agreed on a price of eight dollars for one way service between New York and Providence.
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