The Men Who Built America: Season 1, Episode 4

1. America is in an age of unprecedented prosperity.

2. The country is connected coast to coast by rail...

3. Kerosene lamps brighten the night.

4. And steel is being used to build structures no one

5. could have imagined even a decade earlier.

6. Overseeing much of the growth are Pittsburgh Steel

7. magnates Andrew Carnegie and Henry Frick.

8. Ideal Partners...

9. Together They've driven Carnegie Steel

10. to massive profits.

11. To celebrate, they've erected the South Fork

12. Fishing and Hunting Club...

13. - Cheers. - Cheers.

14. Cheers.

15. A lakefront Members Only playground.

16. But construction has weakened the dam

17. surrounding the lake at South Fork...

18. Posing an imminent threat to the lives of

19. tens of thousands of people in the valley below.

20. -

21. Memorial Day breaks in Johnstown.

22. As ominous clouds roll in.

23. Hurry on, now.

24. At South Fork, lake levels are rising...

25. at an inch every 10 minutes.

26. More bags.

27. Go, go.

28. Over here.

29. We need more men up here.

30. Give me that bag.

31. We need more men.

32. Hurry UP-

33. - Over here. - Give me that bag.

34. John!

35. Get a telegram to Johnstown!

36. Tell them to evacuate!

37. We need more men.

38. The message reads...

39. "South Fork Dam liable to break. Notify the people

40. to prepare for the worst."

41. The Johnstown Telegraph office

42. has seen the same warning many times before.

43. They ignore it.

44. We need more at the top.

45. We're running out of time.

46. - Leave it! Leave it! - Let's get out of here! Now!

47. - Get out of here! - The dam's burst!

48. Move away from the window.

49. When the water stops,

50. more than 2,000 people lie dead.

51. One in three are so mutilated

52. they can't even be identified.

53. 1,600 Homes are destroyed...

54. and over four square miles of the town

55. are completely leveled.

56. The Johnstown Flood is the worst man-made disaster

57. in the United States prior to 9/11.

58. Bodies will be found for years to come.

59. Some as far away as Cincinnati,

60. 350 miles from Johnstown.

61. Volunteers come from across the country

62. to assist in the recovery.

63. The Flood is the first major peacetime relief effort

64. of the recently formed American Red Cross.

65. As outrage over the flood grows,

66. the public looks for someone to blame.

67. Most of that blame falls on the members

68. of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.

69. But the members deny responsibility.

70. Lawsuits are filed...

71. But they're ultimately unsuccessful.

72. In the eyes of an angry public,

73. the South Fork members—including

74. Henry Frick—have gotten away with murder.

75. The incident forever changes Andrew Carnegie...

76. Who feels a sense of responsibility for the disaster,

77. unlike many of his fellow club members.

78. He soon drops out of South Fork and begins a campaign

79. to rebuild his damaged image.

80. When your brand becomes so big that you become the name,

81. you become the face behind the brand,

82. it's difficult.

83. There's also a great deal of responsibility

84. and risk, and you have to be very, very careful.

85. Carnegie donates millions

86. to help rebuild Johnstown.

87. Carnegie gave money to thousands of libraries.

88. Millions and millions of dollars.

89. Carnegie wanted to be remembered

90. for the good he had done.

91. Carnegie begins building

92. public monuments across the country.

93. And soon, a grand music venue in Manhattan

94. becomes his passion.

95. Carnegie Hall is New York's new home

96. for the performing arts.

97. And for high society to rub elbows.

98. On opening night, Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky

99. is the featured performer.

100. Andrew Carnegie is treated like royalty.

101. Honored for the masterpiece he's built.

102. But even in this setting, one man is a bigger presence.

103. John D. Rockefeller

104. is worth three times as much as Carnegie.

105. But the Cathedral Carnegie's built bearing

106. his name, takes their rivalry to another level.

107. Oh. Thank you, Alisha.

108. The men will spend the next 10 years

109. battling each other.

110. Sparring with Christmas gifts.

111. Rockefeller sends Carnegie a cheap, paper vest.

112. A jab at his simple beginnings as a poor immigrant.

113. In return, Carnegie sends Rockefeller,

114. a devout Baptist who doesn't drink,

115. a bottle of fine whiskey.

116. You know I've had my own little rivalries,

117. I've had a rivalry with Donald trump where I think

118. it was back, 2004, he was giving me a hard time

119. about something and I said "you know what I can write

120. a bigger check than you and not even know it's missing,"

121. because I knew if I tweaked him,

122. he would just respond, and he did,

123. and I still like to tweak him just because it's fun...

124. I always say you have to have

125. someone to hate to aim for.

126. Having an enemy, having an arch enemy,

127. having a competitor is what ups the game for everybody.

128. While Rockefeller's oil empire

129. steadily grows,

130. steel becomes

131. the product of choice for construction.

132. And Carnegie's business takes off.

133. Mr. Connor

134. Yes, sir.

135. How's the output?

136. She's running at full capacity, sir.

137. Good. Carry on.

138. Carnegie's steel helps trigger

139. the upward expansion of America's cities.

140. But if he wants to challenge Rockefeller

141. for the title of America's Most Powerful

142. Businessman...

143. Carnegie must become even more profitable.

144. But he'll pay a price for his ambition.

145. That will threaten to destroy everything he's

146. worked so hard to build.

147. The building of Modern America is moving

148. at lightning speed.

149. Rail lines link east to west in a way never before

150. thought possible.

151. Oil is burning into the night.

152. And steel is pushing cities to unimaginable heights.

153. Driving this growth is a rivalry between two men.

154. Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller.

155. One the undisputed King of Oil, the other,

156. the Unchallenged Man of Steel.

157. And each is determined not to be outdone.

158. I benefit from high-class

159. competition.

160. I've been dogged by the competition,

161. bested by the competition a couple times.

162. But I've had my licks, too,

163. and we've managed to hold our own.

164. To overtake Rockefeller as the richest

165. man in the country, Carnegie can't just be

166. a profitable steel maker.

167. He's got to be the most profitable.

168. And for that, he needs an edge.

169. He sets his sights on a struggling steel mill

170. outside Pittsburgh.

171. With plans to make it the largest

172. in his steel making empire.

173. Carnegie invests millions retooling the plant

174. to turn out more structural

175. steel than any other mill of its size.

176. The Homestead Steel Works is a true modern marvel.

177. But it can't operate

178. without man power.

179. One of the huge costs in a steel mill is labor.

180. Carnegie knew that to stay profitable.

181. He had to keep costs low.

182. And the only way to keep costs low was to reduce

183. wages and increase working hours.

184. To keep profits growing, Carnegie needs

185. to continue cutting costs.

186. Including wages.

187. But he's also determined to repair his image.

188. Something he can't do in the midst of a labor dispute.

189. So he turns to his chairman to do the dirty work.

190. Henry Frick has never been concerned with what people

191. think of his methods.

192. He's about one thing...

193. Winning.

194. Carnegie didn't enjoy being the bad guy,

195. being the villain.

196. Frick didn't seem to mind.

197. I think the great leaders find

198. partners who basically can exploit their weaknesses,

199. but not kind of dance on their strengths.

200. Instead of hiring weaker versions of themselves,

201. they hire people that are tremendous experts

202. at what they're not.

203. Henry shows me the ledgers,

204. and that was not the number I was expecting.

205. Now, the only question remains

206. is how much we'll make next year.

207. With Frick firmly installed

208. as chairman of Carnegie Steel...

209. The boss heads to Scotland

210. to give him room to operate.

211. The industrialists of that period of time

212. are people who are out for themselves

213. to make large fortunes as quickly as possible,

214. even if it means pressing the envelope

215. of what they have to do.

216. Frick begins squeezing all that he can get

217. out of the workers at Homestead.

218. Frick decided that the only way

219. to keep the plant running efficiently was with a 12

220. hour day, six days a week.

221. What that meant was intolerable working conditions.

222. No one could work 12 hours a day.

223. If you're working in an office,

224. you'd fall asleep at your desk.

225. If you fall asleep in a steel mill,

226. you end up dead.

227. You know back when Carnegie

228. was building his empire, obviously there were

229. no labor laws, it was a free for all.

230. And looking back it seems horrific

231. in a lot of different ways that workers

232. were taken advantage of.

233. But that was the game that was played back then.

234. The conditions are dangerous.

235. And a small group of men bands together

236. to raise their concerns.

237. Many of the workers at the steel mill felt

238. that change in working conditions was a necessity.

239. They were exhausted and they wanted wages

240. that were livable.

241. Unions are relatively new in America.

242. And Frick isn't about to let them take root on his watch.

243. But before acting, he seeks his boss' counsel.

244. "Dear Andrew, it may become necessary to fight

245. it out this summer.

246. Once got into it will be fought to the finish."

247. Andrew Carnegie is well aware

248. of Frick's aggressiveness.

249. It's why he's put three thousand miles between them.

250. But Carnegie would rather leave some things unsaid.

251. "Mr. Frick, no doubt you will get Homestead right.

252. You can get anything right,

253. with your mild persistence."

254. There's a fine line, how do we protect the worker,

255. yet, at the same time, continue to grease the

256. wheels for capitalism?

257. Sometimes those two are at cross-purposes.

258. Frick takes Carnegie's words

259. as a clear indication that it's time to go to war.

260. He ramps up production,

261. pushing his men harder than ever.

262. In case of a strike, he'll have

263. a stockpile of finished steel.

264. The men are spending half their lives

265. in the dreadful and dangerous conditions.

266. And they're about to reach their breaking point.

267. May the Lord in his love and mercy help you.

268. May the Lord free you from sin

269. and save you and raise you up.

270. In the name of the Father, and the Son,

271. and the Holy Spirit.

272. Accidents on the plant floor

273. keep multiplying.

274. Until one proves fatal.

275. The death has the potential to unite

276. the overwhelmed workforce.

277. Frick knows what's coming.

278. "Dear Andrew, I am not prepared to believe

279. that we will win without a severe struggle.

280. I regret to say it does not seem that there is

281. any other course open for us.

282. We would better make the fight and be through with it."

283. "Henry, One thing we are all sure of

284. no contest will be entered into that will fail.

285. We all approve of anything you do.

286. We are with you to the end."

287. Knowing his boss has his back,

288. Frick throws the first punch.

289. He tells workers that Carnegie Steel won't negotiate.

290. And conditions won't be improving.

291. He can't do that.

292. Frick didn't understand the steelworkers believed

293. that the mill belonged to them.

294. They were the ones who made the steel.

295. It was their plant and they weren't gonna to let

296. this nasty little Frick take it from them.

297. Under the management of Mr. Frick,

298. the Carnegie Company has wiped out organization

299. in the Edgar Thompson works.

300. Has wiped out organization in the coke region

301. and are about to wipe out organization in Homestead.

302. No!

303. The time has come to send

304. Mr. Frick a message.

305. That's right.

306. We do not accept the new pay scale.

307. - No. - We do not accept

308. the poor working conditions. No.

309. We do not accept the long hours.

310. No.

311. And why can we do this?

312. Because we are a union. Yeah!

313. And nobody, nobody will break us!

314. Yeah!

315. All those in favor of striking,

316. raise your hands.

317. Yeah!

318. Mr. Frick?

319. I'm giving you one more chance

320. to call off this strike.

321. I'll make sure any man who walks out, never returns.

322. We'll see.

323. 2,000 steel workers barricade

324. the front of the plant.

325. To prevent Frick from bringing in replacements.

326. The fight has turned personal.

327. But Frick isn't about to back down.

328. He calls in reinforcements.

329. For years, the Pinkerton Detectives have been

330. a private police force.

331. Best known for tracking down train robbers.

332. They even stopped a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.

333. And were hired as the President's personal bodyguards.

334. But now they've become an army for hire.

335. With more men and guns than the U.S. Military.

336. If you have the money, they'll fight for you.

337. And Frick has the money.

338. We'll enter by the river,

339. take them by force if necessary.

340. Remember your training, follow orders.

341. If they start shooting we'll hit them back hard.

342. There is no place for cowardice.

343. The Pinkertons were mercenaries.

344. They were from out of town.

345. They had no ties to Pittsburgh,

346. no ties to these workers.

347. They were paid a wage to wield their clubs.

348. The moment Frick made the decision to bring in

349. Pinkertons, the die was cast and the only way

350. this strike was going to end was in tragedy.

351. FIRE!

352. 2,000 men barricade themselves

353. inside the Homestead plant.

354. Causing steel production to grind to a hault.

355. Carnegie Steel's chairman, Henry Frick,

356. is in no mood to negotiate.

357. Under pressure to quell the revolt,

358. Frick brings in the Pintertons.

359. A mercenary army capable of outgunning the U.S. Military.

360. And their presence threatens to be the spark

361. that light the powder keg.

362. Frick thought to himself

363. when the workers see the Pinkertons,

364. when they see that I'm not going to back down

365. they will back down.

366. He thought a show of strength,

367. a show of resolve, was all that was needed.

368. And that would be the end.

369. He badly miscalculated.

370. Hold your ground.

371. Stay calm. Stay calm.

372. We're here to take possession of this property.

373. No!

374. I suggest you turn around and go home.

375. You're not getting in.

376. If you do not stand aside,

377. we will mow every one of you down.

378. Muttering.

379. The blood of innocent men

380. will be on your hands.

381. Tear down this barricade.

382. No!

383. Fire!

384. Fire! Shoot them. Shoot!

385. Hold the line.

386. Keep your ground.

387. Fire! Fire!

388. - You all right? - You all right?

389. Take it.

390. Fire!

391. Fire!

392. Fire!

393. Fire!

394. Fire!

395. When the fighting stops,

396. nine Carnegie Steel workers lie dead.

397. While countless others sustain severe injuries.

398. But they manage to hold their ground.

399. Until Pennsylvania's Governor sends in

400. the state militia to finally restore order.

401. Homestead is back in the hands of the management.

402. But Andrew Carnegie's problems are far from over.

403. The public is outraged over the violence,

404. blaming chairman Henry Frick directly.

405. Many are demanding justice for the dead.

406. Mr. Frick.

407. The vast and rapid growth of America

408. is in full swing.

409. Railroads now connect all 44 states.

410. Oil is the most precious resource in the country.

411. And steel is building our cities.

412. But growth at this pace doesn't come without a cost.

413. Andrew Carnegie is making more steel than anyone

414. else in the world.

415. To meet this level of production,

416. his workers are on their feet 12 hours a day,

417. six days a week.

418. The conditions spur them to barricade the plant,

419. leading Carnegie's Chairman, Henry Frick,

420. to call in mercenaries.

421. Fire!

422. A bloody battle leaves nine workers dead.

423. Frick regains control of Homestead.

424. But while the carnage is over...

425. the public outcry is just beginning.

426. It was a massacre.

427. Not just in terms of the number of injured and dead.

428. But a massacre that any civilians should be killed,

429. standing and defending their plant.

430. Over night, Homestead becomes a

431. searing symbol of life and death in Industrial America.

432. Carnegie probably was appalled

433. at what happened at Homestead.

434. He prided himself on portraying his company

435. as an enlightened, progressive company,

436. which in many ways it was.

437. What Homestead did was cast a stain on that

438. and on his reputation that he had

439. a very hard time living down.

440. Carnegie extends his stay in Scotland...

441. Hoping the distance will allow the controversy

442. to blow over.

443. But American reporters track him down.

444. - Excuse me, just a word. - No gentleman.

445. Mr. Carnegie our readers...

446. - Another time gentlemen. - Yes, just a word.

447. I am not in the habit of giving interviews

448. - in the middle of public parks. - Mr. Carnegie.

449. Get out of my damned way.

450. While Carnegie's hounded by press abroad...

451. At home, the public's outrage is escalating.

452. A new group is emerging,

453. calling themselves "The Anarchists."

454. Known for their violent tactics,

455. they are beginning to strike out.

456. Whenever and wherever they see injustice.

457. Now they've turned their attention

458. to the massacre at Homestead.

459. Demanding payback.

460. Their target is the chairman of Carnegie Steel.

461. Henry Frick is determined to get steel production

462. back up to speed.

463. But his enemies have other plans.

464. Mr. Frick.

465. Get off of me.

466. Let me go.