About this season
Influential builders, dreamers and believers whose feats transformed the United States, a nation decaying from the inside after the Civil War, into the greatest economic and technological superpower the world had ever seen. The Men Who Built America is the story of a nation at the crossroads and of the people who catapulted it to prosperity.
Episodes (4)
1. A New War Begins
10.0Aired 16 October 2012 • 120 min
As the nation attempts to rebuild following the destruction of the Civil War, Cornelius Vanderbilt is the first to see the need for unity to regain America’s stature in the world. He sells his shipping empire to invest everything in the railroads, knowing they’re the best chance for uniting East and West as never before.
2. Bloody Battles
7.7Aired 23 October 2012 • 120 min
As it recovers from the Civil War, America undertakes the largest building phase of the country's history. While much of the growth is driven by railroads and oil, it's built using steel.
3. Changing the Game
7.7Aired 30 October 2012 • 120 min
The steel and oil have forever changed the face of America, but they are just the beginning. JP Morgan arrives on the scene and expedites growth through finance.
4. When One Ends, Another Begins
8.7Aired 11 November 2012 • 120 min
Railroads, oil, steel and electricity have all been harnessed in less than 50 years, but the face of America is changing and will never be the same.