# History channel: Men who built America **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 26, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139 "2012-11-26T10:41:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/1 "2012-11-26T10:41:19Z")
Just thought I’d share. I discovered this gem over the weekend on the History channel. (The entire series is on ON Demand.) It’s a four part series and I have to say it’s one of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a while. I was so enthralled, I wound up watching the whole series in a single sitting. It’s basically about the pioneers of industry; John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan; and the impact they had on America and free enterprise. Well worth a look. (I’m sharing this because I never saw the promos for this show. Which is weird because the HC is usually pretty good about that sort of thing.) ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/2 "2012-11-26T11:11:14Z")
Does it turn out that Carnegie was an alien? ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/3 "2012-11-26T13:05:11Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Does it turn out that Carnegie was an alien? I don’t think so … he wasn’t African-American either;) They pronounced his name two dif ways… I wonder why they didn’t settle on one. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/4 "2012-11-26T13:20:24Z")
I’ve got them all DVR’d, just haven’t had a chance to watch yet. My wife said they were very good. > [@Shakes](#): > > (I’m sharing this because I never saw the promos for this show. Which is weird because the HC is usually pretty good about that sort of thing.) You must not watch “Pawn Stars”. Every single break for weeks started with a commercial for this. ---
**Author:** ![Fir\_na\_tine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fir\_na\_tine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fir_na_tine)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/5 "2012-11-26T14:08:27Z")
The episodes were very good in that they were extensively researched. Lots of background I had never heard before and I’m a minor history buff. But, IMHO, very poorly edited. After each commercial segment there’s a 2 or 3 minute recap of what you just saw before the commercial! Way too much repetition. Still worth watching though, ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/6 "2012-11-26T19:17:03Z")
The History Channel does that recap thing with pretty much all their shows. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/7 "2012-11-26T19:59:20Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > The History Channel does that recap thing with pretty much all their shows. You know what they say… History repeats itself. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/8 "2012-11-26T20:59:41Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Does it turn out that Carnegie was an alien? No, but he did try to pawn his Nostradamus memorabilia. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/history-channel-men-who-built-america/642139/9 "2012-11-26T22:51:59Z")
> [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > Does it turn out that Carnegie was an alien? No, but it turns out he was and ice road trucker before he emigrated. Actually, while it’s repetitive and light on content it’s a pretty honest attempt to make history sexy. If that’s what it takes to get an audience for some actual historical knowledge I commend the History Channel on spending some cash on it’s production. I’d like to see a stronger counterpoint to the consequences of these visionaries ambitions for the little guy though. The Men who build America were also the poor, ignored and mistreated.