The Men Who Built America – Episode 2 – Fast Recap

Andrew Carnegie – The Men Who Built America

Tom Scott is dead.

Carnegie is upset and hold John D. Rockefeller responsible.  Vows to get even by making lots of money.  He never overtakes him as richest man in the world, but they send each other useless Christmas gifts; which is just as good I guess.

Carnegie’s company builds the Eads Bridge; uses steel to make it strong.  People wouldn’t cross it, so Andrew Carnegie had an elephant cross it to show people it was strong enough for people.  Today people are the size of elephants so I don’t know if this would have worked.

Carnegie goes on to become a steel magnate.  Hires Henry Frick as chairman, because he possesses the ruthlessness that Carnegie lacks.  Through fear and intimidation he has contracts renegotiated that makes Carnegie more money.  He also makes working in a steel mill like livin’ in hell; which also improves profits.

Carnegie’s steel company is responsible for expansion in major cities like Chicago and New York.  He’s making it rain money.

Frick opens a country club and lowers a dam so his carriage can move about freely on the roads.  There’s a town right below the road.  It rains.  They town floods.  Lots of people die.  Everyone blames Frick, Carnegie and the elite members of the club.  Carnegie gives millions to rebuild to make people like him again.

“We’re still cool right?”

A worker dies at the Homestead Steel mill; prompting the workers to unionize.  They strike and barricade themselves into the mill to halt production.

Carnegie goes to Scotland and leaves Frick in charge of handling the strike so no one would blame him for when the Frick hits the fan.

Frick hires the Pinkertons (ironically dressed in black) to show up and intimidate the workers into bringing down the barricade.  They don’t; so they Pinkertons bring out the guns and start shooting.  They still don’t leave.  The governor sends in troops to get rid of them.  They leave.

But, the public hates Carnegie, as a result.  They think he’s a d-bag.  A group known as the Anarchists target Henry Frick for revenge in the name of the common man.  They send someone to assassinate Frick.  He fails.  Frick beats the shit out of him.  The show ends.