NARRATOR: Previously on
"The Men Who Built America," bruised and battered following
the long Civil War, the country has emerged stronger than ever. American railroads have
become the largest companies in the world. And through shear force-- Buy everything you can. NARRATOR: --Cornelius Vanderbilt
has built the biggest. We're gonna watch them bleed. [pulsating music] NARRATOR: But a new
industry emerges to challenge the railroads,
led by John D. Rockefeller. The age of oil begins. Soon, Vanderbilt and
the other railroads see oil as an opportunity. MAN: You want a cartel
between oil and railroads. But as railroad men like Tom
Scott and his protege, Andrew Carnegie take on
big oil, Rockefeller declares war on the railroads. Shut them down. NARRATOR: And brings the
industry to its knees. [MUSIC - BLUE SARCENO, "SAVE MY
SOUL"] When I got to Memphis,
to put my ole baby down. He said, I can't take you to
Heaven, I can't save your soul, I can't promise forever. Hey, yeah, I got my
heart in your hands. I can't feel in my soul. CLERGYMAN: The
gathered here will now join me and the reciting
of the Lord's Prayer. Our Father who art in
heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day
our daily bread, forgive us our trespass, as we
forgive those who trespassed against us. Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the power and
the glory, forever and ever. Amen. NARRATOR: Andrew
Carnegie's mentor is buried on a rainy day
just outside of Philadelphia. He dies a broken man,
defeated and humiliated at the hands of
John D. Rockefeller. The loss is an enormous
blow to Carnegie. Without Tom Scott,
Carnegie would be nothing. Sir? Thanks. NARRATOR: At the age
of 12, Andrew Carnegie begins working for a local
railroad in Pittsburgh. There, he meets the company's
president, Tom Scott. TOM SCOTT: Andy? NARRATOR: Scott takes a
liking to young Carnegie, hiring him as his
personal assistant. Now, take this and this to
the division superintendent. Yes, Sir. This is for you, sir. Oh, thank you. DAVID NASAW: He never expected
to work at 12 years old. He wanted to go to school. He wanted to grow up. But the family had
absolutely no way of surviving without
sending him to work. HW BRANDS: Andy is the
man of the household. He realizes fairly early
on that he's smart. He discovers in
himself an ambition. And when Andy Carnegie
showed the intelligence, showed the nerve to take on
some of the responsibilities, Scott realized that this
was somebody to cultivate, somebody to nurture. NARRATOR: Tom Scott
quickly advances Carnegie through the ranks. STEVE WYNN: Like most young
people who get breaks, luck has a lot to
do with the timing. And the second factor besides
timing is that as a young man, usually all of us
would admit that there was a mentor, a benefactor. And when an older person
who you respect and admire has confidence in you,
it's a great booster to your own self-confidence. NARRATOR: By age 24, Carnegie
is promoted to manager of the company, working
closely with Scott to oversee the railroad's expansion West. [clanging] [birds chirping] TOM SCOTT: So I bought
100,000 shares at $10 a share before news of the
contract came out. When the issue became public,
the shares doubled in value. The next day, you
know what I did? I sold them. I didn't have to build a thing. The key is westward expansion. ANDREW CARNEGIE: Yes, Sir. Here, this is where I
want the bridge, right here. You think you can do it? Yes, Sir. I know a good
designer, James Eads. He's crazy, but he's a genius. Bridge builder, is he? No, but he's quick,
and he's cheap. He can do anything. Come. NARRATOR: The bridge
Scott has outlined will be the largest in America. The problem is, Carnegie
has no idea how to build it. A bridge spanning
the Mississippi River would connect East to
West like never before. The key to success
for any railroad is getting across the
Mississippi River. Once you get across
the Mississippi River, you can move West. The question is, how do you get
across the Mississippi River? NARRATOR: The bridge will
have to be over a mile long. One in four bridges
built at the time fail. And nobody has built a
rail bridge this big. But Carnegie knows there's
no reward without risk. He invests everything
he has into the bridge. HW BRANDS: Andy
Carnegie stepped up. He decided he could do it. One striking thing about
Carnegie-- and this is true of the great
entrepreneurs-- they're willing to take risks. They're willing to
roll the dice and bet, in later days, the whole
corporation, or in this case, bet his career. It's no good. Why? We can't block
steamboat traffic. We've been through this. Show me the
cantilever one again. It's not going to withstand
the Mississippi current. So make it stronger. It's impossible. The combined forces from the
passenger traffic rail freight and the river current will
exceed the tensile strength of iron and the
bridge will collapse. Nothing's impossible. STEVE CASE: You have to be
patient and have perseverance and then having a sense
of where you want to go and having the passion to
still believe in your idea even when everybody else is
saying, well, why are you wasting your time on this? It obviously is not-- is
not-- is not happening. But you know it's gonna happen. You just don't-- you never
give up on that idea. MAN: How am I supposed
to make any money? They're worth
more than a dollar. MAN: Five cents, final offer. [inaudible] [clanging] It's not going to withstand
the Mississippi current. So make it stronger. [clanging] Maybe if it was
made out of steel. Nothing's impossible. [banging] NARRATOR: Steel is the
strongest material ever made, created by mixing iron with
carbon at over 2000 degrees. The problem is it's extremely
expensive and difficult to mass produce. Because steel is so rare, it's
only used to make small items-- forks, knives, and jewelry. No one has ever tried to use
steel to build a structure this big, until now. He's looking into the future. He looks across the Mississippi,
and he sees a bridge. And he's able to
see that future, and then willing to have enough
confidence in his vision to put everything he's got into it. And he's willing to convince
others that he knows what that future is going to be. NARRATOR: In order to
complete the bridge, Carnegie needs to find a way to
make a massive amount of steel. DAVID NASAW: He spent a
lot of time traveling. He would go to steel mills. He would meet with
chemists to figure out, how do you make this steel? NARRATOR: English
inventor, Henry Bessemer, has created a device
that cuts the time to manufacture a single steel
rail from two weeks to 15 minutes. Carnegie understands the
value of the new technology and begins to adapt it. RON PERELMAN: Every business
has some uniqueness, either unique talent, unique
product, unique capacity. And the trick is to find
it and capitalize on it. NARRATOR: With the
steel in place, Carnegie is able to
begin construction. At just 33, Andrew
Carnegie is poised to realize the impossible-- building the first
major bridge to span the Mississippi
River, uniting America. But Carnegie's decision to
use steel has proven costly. He's already two
years behind schedule and expenses are mounting. BANK COLLECTOR 1:
Dear Mr. Carnegie, our records show
that we have not received your payment
of $35,000, which was due on August-- BANK COLLECTOR 2:
Dear Mr. Carnegie, I am writing to notify you
that despite numerous efforts to obtain final payment
for the above invoice, I've been unsuccessful-- BANK COLLECTOR 3: This letter
will serve as formal notice to you that you are in
default of your obligation to pay the sum of $59,000
for steel delivered to you-- BANK COLLECTOR 2: I must now
accelerate the collection efforts in accordance with-- BANK COLLECTOR 1:
--that you will be able to settle this
outstanding amount immediately. BANK COLLECTOR 2: We will have
no alternative but to commence legal proceedings against you. DONNY DEUTSCH: I guarantee if
these guys were alive today, they wouldn't be telling
you about their successes. They would be telling
about their early failures, or the places they
almost failed. That's the great motivator. And you have to be
able to embrace that. If you can't embrace both
failure or the possibility of failure or the
tremendous fear of failure, you can't be wildly successful. It's just-- it's
an axiomatic truth. NARRATOR: With no
money left, Carnegie is forced to bring construction
to a halt. His dream has become a nightmare. But he's not going
down without a fight. The birth of modern
America is well underway. Trains now touch all four
corners of the continent. Homes across the nation
are lit at night. And the country's most
ambitious construction project is in progress on the banks
of the Mississippi River led by Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie has insisted on
building his bridge out of steel, an unproven
material with huge costs. Construction is drastically
behind schedule and dangerously over budget. Carnegie is under
mounting pressure. CARLY FIORINA: And the
difference between people who succeed and people who fail,
I think in many cases-- it's not fear. Everyone experiences fear. The difference is what
do you do with your fear? Do you work to overcome it
or do you let it defeat you? And I think that is actually
what distinguishes very successful people from others. NARRATOR: Desperate,
Carnegie reaches out to investors looking
for an infusion of cash. ANDREW CARNEGIE:
You'll be glad to learn that the building of St. Louis
bridge is progressing smoothly. I am convinced that
steel is the future. However, obtaining such
a large quantity of steel is proving to be difficult,
causing us some delays. It is also proving to
be extremely expensive. My forecast shows that we will
require another million dollar before the year is out. But I have no doubt
that in time, the people will come to see the bridge as
the eighth wonder of the world. Your sincerely, Andrew Carnegie. NARRATOR: Carnegie's
last-minute pitch works. He secures the
financing he needs. And finally, after four
years, the bridge is complete. The results are epic. But Carnegie now
faces a new problem. DAVID NASAW: In St. Louis,
one of the real problems was convincing people that the
bridge wasn't going to fall. I mean, nobody had ever seen
bridges like this anywhere. NARRATOR: Carnegie sees all
the possible uses for steel. But before he can realize
the material's potential, he needs to convince the
public of its strength. And he has a plan
to do just that. A popular superstition
at the time holds that an elephant won't
cross an unstable structure. DAVID NASAW: The day
the bridge opens, Carnegie, who is a
master publicist, sets up a parade across
the bridge that's led by an elephant. NARRATOR: It's an
incredible gamble. But Carnegie hopes if
the elephant crosses, the people will follow. [cheering] DAVID NASAW: As the people of
st. Lewis look at this bridge, they see that it can
sustain whatever weight's gonna be put on it. NARRATOR: When the
stunt succeeds, Carnegie gets more
requests for his steel than he can possibly handle. And his biggest customer is
an industry he knows well. The railroads are looking to
replace their bridges and rails with steel. But Carnegie can't produce
enough of the new material to fill all the orders. He needs to increase
his capacity. And to do that, he needs
to raise additional funds. So he turns to his
old mentor, Tom Scott. With his help, Carnegie
raises over $21 million in today's money. And with it, he builds
his first steel plant. DAVID NASAW: He sees the future. And he is willing
to invest where few other American entrepreneurs
are willing to invest-- in these gigantic new plants. NARRATOR: Sprawled
over 100 acres just outside of Pittsburgh,
Carnegie's steel mill is the largest in the nation,
capable of rolling out 225 tons of steel a day. JIM CRAMER: You have to believe
if you're Carnegie that you're going to have multiple
years of growth where steel is important. The faith and optimism
that someone like Carnegie had-- it-- it is just off the
charts versus what we see now. NARRATOR: With the
new plant, Carnegie can supply as much steel
as the country needs and make himself a fortune. But Carnegie's timing
couldn't be worse. After years of overbuilding,
the railroads are suddenly struggling to stay profitable. HW BRANDS: There were too
many railroads at the time. There wasn't enough
traffic to sustain them. NARRATOR: With the railroads
in dire need of cargo, John Rockefeller
sees an opportunity and negotiates better
rates for shipping his oil. But the struggling
railroads quickly realize their business
won't survive and go back on their word,
causing Rockefeller to pull his oil from the trains. Carnegie's mentor, Tom
Scott, tries to adjust. But he can't survive
without Rockefeller's oil. His business is decimated. And Tom Scott never recovers. CLERGYMAN: From ashes to
ashes and dust to dust. NARRATOR: Andrew Carnegie has
lost his mentor, the man who meant more to him than
anyone else in the world. TOM SCOTT: Andy? Now, take this and this to
the division superintendent. Think you can do it? Yes, Sir. NARRATOR: As far as
Carnegie is concerned, one man drove Tom
Scott to his grave. And now, Andrew
Carnegie wants revenge. [pulsating music] America's growth
following the Civil War is nothing short of epic. Train tracks link East
to West as never before. Oil lights homes
from coast to coast. And steel is remaking
the landscape in a way never thought possible. But just when the growth
looks unstoppable, the railroad
industry, the backbone of the American
economy, collapses. And the nation is thrown into
the worst depression it's ever seen. Andrew Carnegie is on the
brink of losing everything. Without the railroads, he's
lost his market for steel. And he blames his bitter
rival, John D. Rockefeller. Desperate for a new market,
Carnegie notices a trend he can capitalize on. Unemployed Americans
by the thousands are flooding cities like
New York and Chicago in search of work. And to accommodate
the population surge, buildings are being constructed
as fast as possible. DAVID NASAW:
Carnegie brilliantly begins to see that the
future is not in rails, but in structural
steel, in girders, in beams to build skyscrapers. And again, he's
ahead of the curve. NARRATOR: The world's first
skyscraper is built in Chicago. Its thin brick walls hang on
a thick frame manufactured from Carnegie steel. In the next few years,
over 100,000 new buildings are erected in Chicago alone. Until steel began to
become a major product, much of what we
see about America could not have happened. America grew up
vertically on steel. NARRATOR: Modern
America is being built using Carnegie steel. The skyscraper boom makes Andrew
Carnegie one of the wealthiest men in America. But for Carnegie,
it's not enough. John Rockefeller's personal
fortune is seven times larger than Carnegie's, a
feat he's achieved through a calculated
ruthlessness. Carnegie believes that to
avenge his mentor's death, he must surpass John Rockefeller
as the most powerful man in America. And to do that, he must
find help from someone even more cutthroat than his rival. And he knows the
perfect man for the job. Henry Frick is a self-made
millionaire by 30. He's one of the Midwest's
largest coal suppliers. A ruthless businessman,
Frick has a reputation for getting what he wants
by any means necessary. HENRY FRICK: (YELLING) Carter? Carter? This belongs to me now. Carter, I know you're in there! [yelling] [thud] [painful gasping] NARRATOR: Hiring Henry
Frick will give Carnegie the merciless edge he lacks. Follow me, Sir. Henry. Andrew, good to see you. Thank you for coming. It's my pleasure. Please, sit. Thank you. Whiskey, neat. Now, Henry, I believe you're
married since I saw you last. Marriage changes
a man, Andrew. Oh, how's that? [chuckling] Well, let's say I've
calmed down a bit. Well, it's a noble
institution, as I say. Ah, I don't know about noble,
but it's an institution-- An institution
nonetheless, eh? [laughter] MARK CUBAN: The partnership
between Carnegie and Frick was very analogous to the way a
good business partnership works today. You want somebody as completely
opposite and different from you as you possibly can get. NARRATOR: Frick's
first assignment is to get Carnegie
steel into shape. His boss believes that
Frick will use his toughness to cut costs and
eliminate waste, leading to bigger profits. Many see giving Frick so
much power as a huge risk. But Carnegie decides
it's a risk worth taking. Welcome aboard, Henry. Thank you, Andrew. NARRATOR: In the
end, hiring Frick may be the worst decision
of Carnegie's career. America's
unprecedented growth is being led by a group
of extraordinary men. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt
creates the biggest railroad company in the country. John D. Rockefeller
uses standard oils refining capabilities to light
homes from coast to coast. And now, Andrew Carnegie is
using mass produced steel to erect buildings
that touch the sky, making the country stronger
than it's ever been before. ANDREW CARNEGIE: Our profit
margin is unassailable. Our productivity is absolutely
as good as any steel mill in Europe or America. NARRATOR: Carnegie's
steel empire is expanding at a
staggering rate. In just two years,
profits have doubled. ANDREW CARNEGIE:
Right this way, Sir, and I'll shoe you the rest. NARRATOR: By ramping
up production, Carnegie and Frick are able
to use the proceeds to buy competitors throughout
Ohio and Pennsylvania. HW BRANDS: Carnegie
demonstrated that if you're the first at whatever you
do, you have a huge advantage over the people who come
along later, because you've got the jump on them. And very often that jump
allows you to carve a niche and to maximize your
profits within that niche. NARRATOR: Carnegie's personal
fortune is skyrocketing. His net worth is now upwards of
$3.5 billion in today's money. His decision to hire Henry Frick
looks like a stroke of genius. Through intimidation
and fear, Frick renegotiates favorable
contracts with suppliers and eliminates
unnecessary expenses while upping production. 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4-- NARRATOR: Approaching the
final decade of the century, Carnegie Steel is more
profitable than ever. Carnegie rewards Frick by making
him chairman of his company-- Happy New Year. Happy New Year. NARRATOR: --the second
most powerful man in steel. But for Frick, it's not enough. He wants his boss's
seat at the table. Frick's father had
been a failure. And now, he wants to make sure
that everyone knows he's not his father. Frick purchases land in the
hills East of Pittsburgh. On it, he builds a members-only
club for some of the wealthiest men in the country. The South Fork Fishing
and Hunting Club sits on a huge artificial
lake, where club members can boat and fish. ANDREW CARNEGIE: Now,
the problem, Henry, remains that we are so-- NARRATOR: Even Carnegie
joins the club. It doesn't seem
like a problem to me that we know who our friends
are we know how to please them. Yes, and you can
always buy a man. However--
[glass breaking] --if it's possible not to,
I would think that that's-- Excuse me just for one moment. [clears throat] NARRATOR: To create
their playground, the club takes control
of the South Fork Dam, holding 20 million tons
of water, the largest dam of its kind in the world. Just 14 miles down
river lies Johnstown, a working-class community
of steel workers and their families who live
under the constant threat that the next rainstorm
will wash away the dam. City officials beg Frick
to strengthen the dam. But he ignores their
pleas completely. [horse neighing] I heard there was an accident. Well, you're right. There has been an accident,
and I can't get my carriage across this road. But your carriage is too
wide for the road, Sir. Now, that is where you
and I are going to differ. My carriage is just fine. It's the road
that's the problem. To widen the road we'd
have to lower the dam, Sir. Well, there now. That was too hard
to sort out, was it? NARRATOR: By lowering the
dam, Frick weakens it. Shows me the
ledgers at the end and that was not the
number I was expecting. It was a little bit higher
than what I was expecting. And the only question
remaining is how much money we'll make next year. Well, [inaudible] NARRATOR: Frick is content
with his club, his image, and his wealth. [laughter] [inaudible] That's
not funny at all, Harry. NARRATOR: But everything
is about to change. [thundering] America is in an age of
unprecedented prosperity. The country is connected
coast to coast by rail. Kerosene lamps
brighten the night. And steel is being used to build
structures no one could have imagined even a decade earlier. Overseeing much of the growth
are Pittsburgh steel magnates Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick. Ideal partners, together
they've driven Carnegie Steel to massive profits. To celebrate, they've erected
the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club-- Cheers. Cheers. Cheers. NARRATOR: --a lakefront,
members-only playground. But construction
has weakened the dam surrounding the
lake at South Fork, posing an imminent threat to
the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Valley below. Memorial Day breaks in Johnstown
as ominous clouds roll in. [rain spattering] [thundering] Hurry on now. NARRATOR: At South Fork, lake
levels are rising at an inch every 10 minutes. [thundering] John? Get a telegram to Johnstown. Tell them to evacuate! NARRATOR: The message
reads "South Fork Dam liable to break. Notify the people to
prepare for the worst." The Johnstown telegraph office
has seen the same warning many times before. They ignore it. [thundering] [inaudible] Let's
get our of here, now!
