The Men who built America-anyone watching?

[Post Toastie]

The Men who built America is a 4 part mini series on the History channel. It deals with Vanderbuilt,Rockefeller,Carnigie and Ford as well as others.Part one was Tues(it will repeat on Sat) and part2 is next tuesday.
I really like it. It has great cinamatography,good acting,and an interesting story. Current successful people are also used to dicscuss the dynamics of business and how these game changing individuals saw an opportunity and ran with it.

[Joe Baggadonitz]

Is this a doc or a drama with actors and stuff?

[ASC67]

I saw it and thought it was very interesting.

[Post Toastie]

Originally Posted by Joe Baggadonitz

Is this a doc or a drama with actors and stuff?

Its a drama with actors but follows as an historcial timeline.The leaders of business and inovation today that are mixed into the show to discuss the important moments in history are Jack Welch,The donald,Mark Cuban,Jim Cramer,Steve Wosneack(apple),Steve Case and others.

[cowboytwang]

Originally Posted by Joe Baggadonitz

Is this a doc or a drama with actors and stuff?

It's a documentary, with some actors playing parts.

You can watch the full episodes here.

[Jamie Black]

This looked very interesting to me but haven't seen any yet. I guess I'll have to jump in late and pick up part one on the re-broadcast.

[emu!]

Maybe they financed America, but they didn't build it.

[Brad Pittiful]

i saw the vanderbilt one...i know this is history and these guys were mega moguls but vandy came off as a real dbag as im sure the rest will...i keep watching as i love this kinda stuff

[cowboytwang]

If even 1/4 of what they say is true about Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie then those were some very competitive, cruel, and cut throat business men. If they didn't like someone they would buy them out, close down, and/or destroy their company.

[emu!]

Wasn't it Rockefeller who owned an oil company in the 30's and subsiquently bought out all the electric trolley companies and shut them down?

[Larry F]

Originally Posted by cowboytwang

If even 1/4 of what they say is true about Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie then those were some very competitive, cruel, and cut throat business men. If they didn't like someone they would buy them out, close down, and/or destroy their company.

This happened to a friend of mine. He had developed an aerodynamic truck cab manufactured with a new kind of material and design. This was before the so-called aerodynamic cabs of today. He spent years on this. One company, maybe General Motors, or someone huge like that, told him that if he built 5 truck cabs, they would buy him out and shut the project down. My terminology might not be correct, but that's the gist of it. That was so demoralizing to my friend. Ultimately, a key figure on his team dropped dead of a heart attack on the way to a critical financial meeting, and they weren't able to get back on track.

[cowboytwang]

Originally Posted by emu!

Maybe they financed America, but they didn't build it.

That's like saying "Fender" didn't build guitars and amps. Sure some kid in the back(now Mexico, Taiwan, or China) actually "built" them, then Fender puts the name on and sells them and pays the kid that did build it. To me it's still "MADE BY FENDER"!!

[Jack FFR1846]

Very interesting series. I watched it and was impressed by how well the story line went together. Hearing how these guys were in it for the competion and to win, more than the financial was interesting to hear. Vanderbilt as a young man getting into bare knuckle fist fights and beating the crap out of his opponents tells me what kind of guy he was. His closing of the Albany bridge was genius. His follow up.....not so much.

[cowboytwang]

Originally Posted by emu!

Wasn't it Rockefeller who owned an oil company in the 30's and subsiquently bought out all the electric trolley companies and shut them down?

That was GM, Firestone, and Standard Oil (the company that Rockefeller started) all together conspired to get rid of trolley cars and replace them with bus lines and taxi cabs.
In the 1870's Standard Oil was refining and producing 90% of all the oil in the US. They also accounted for 40% of the cargo and revenue for the train system in America at the time. When two of the train companies got together and tried to raise the shipping price on Rockefeller, he decided to build 5,000 miles of oil pipeline instead of using the trains. He caused many train companies to go bankrupt that helped add to the Panic of 1873 long depression.

[KokoTele]

Originally Posted by cowboytwang

That's like saying "Fender" didn't build guitars and amps.

Wrong analogy. Saying Rockefeller built America is like saying that Citibank is building it now. Those guys were venture capitalists, not manufacturers, inventors, or engineers. They owned companies who did this and sent them the profits.

[hekawi]

is that the one where Henry Ford takes a model T to a pawn shop and Chumley accidentally wrecks it?

[fakeocaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u7VNNTW7BU

It was also a pretty famous song over here years ago

[Mike Eskimo]

Thanks for the heads up !

[Brad Pittiful]

Originally Posted by Jack FFR1846

Very interesting series. I watched it and was impressed by how well the story line went together. Hearing how these guys were in it for the competion and to win, more than the financial was interesting to hear. Vanderbilt as a young man getting into bare knuckle fist fights and beating the crap out of his opponents tells me what kind of guy he was. His closing of the Albany bridge was genius. His follow up.....not so much.

i liked when the guys were issuing the watered down stock...a sleazy move but also a shot to vandys chops

[cowboytwang]

Originally Posted by KokoTele

Wrong analogy. Saying Rockefeller built America is like saying that Citibank is building it now. Those guys were venture capitalists, not manufacturers, inventors, or engineers. They owned companies who did this and sent them the profits.

OK then it's more like Fender didn't build Ovation Guitars, but they did start of building guitars, and now they have invested in Ovation.

The thing about Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie that you may not know, or are forgetting, is that they all started off working as kids building up a company from the ground. Then yes later in life they would borrow money against their company and invest it in other companies.
They were very smart guys, and could envision things to make this a better country, and better world. With Rockefeller, he and his brother, saw that people were getting injured and killed from kerosine lights. It was from the inconsistencies in refining the oil, so they built a refinery that standardized the way kerosine was made. Then after a fight with the railroads he came up with the idea for the world first oil pipeline.
Vanderbilt started out with buying a boat when he was 16, with money he made working for his dads boat business, and started ferrying freight and passengers between Staten Island and Manhattan. He built that into a company with ships and freight liners. Then he invested in the railroads.

They all had to start somewhere, and after they BUILT their companies and made money then they became venture capitalists.