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Empires of Industry

  • 2001
  • Returning Series
  • Documentary
  • 3 seasons

Chronicling the trades and commodities that made America an industrial power: coal, shipbuilding, brewing, textiles and steel. Also: profiles of magnates such as Andrew Carnegie and Henry Kaiser.

Latest: Season 1 · 2001

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  1. E1. The Cola Wars

    Jun 25, 2001 · 50m

    A look at the history of Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola and the rivalry between the two soft-drink companies. Included: comments from experts, including author Frederick Allen (“Secret Formula”). Narrator: Dan Chandler.

  2. E2. Wildcatters

    Jul 2, 2001

  3. E3. Battle for the Skies

    Jul 9, 2001

  4. E4. The DuPont Dynasty

    Jul 16, 2001

    The history of the Du Pont family is chronicled from their beginnings as gunpowder manufacturers at the turn of the 19th century, when it was founded by French immigrant E.I. du Pont. Included: interviews with descendants; and historians.

  5. E5. Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel

    Jul 23, 2001

    Andrew Carnegie and the Age of Steel chronicles the rise of the iron and steel industries in the United States and the personal ascent of immigrant Andrew Carnegie, whose steel company would one day make him the richest man in America. The American iron, and later steel, industries were the backbone of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, supplying the material that would enable the growth of railroads, skyscrapers, war machines and a host of other industries. It is the story of the rise of big industry in the United States, in all its glory, and all its shame. While the steel industry would make men such as Andrew Carnegie wealthy beyond imagination, it would also cripple, maim, and kill those who toiled to keep the furnaces blasting and the steel rolling.

  6. E6. J. Pierpont Morgan: Emperor of Wall Street

    Jul 30, 2001

    He single-handedly saved the U.S. from bankruptcy on two occasions, but was often accused of being a monopolist. He wielded as much power as the president and turned Wall Street into his personal playground. John Pierpont Morgan had an aptitude for acquisition. He assembled one of America's largest fortunes and purchased an art collection to rival any in the world.

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