All language subtitles for The Men Who Built America 3 Changing The Game

- NARRATOR: Previously,
on "The Men Who Built America:"

The country has bounced back
from a long civil war,

and is now
stronger than ever.

Cornelius Vanderbilt
used brute force

and intimidation to build
a railroad empire

that unites the country.

John D. Rockefeller rose
from humble beginnings,

and with complete
confidence and ruthlessness,

created a total monopoly
of the oil industry.

Then, a new product transformed
the American landscape.

- CARNEGIE: I am convinced
that steel is the future.

- NARRATOR: And thanks to
Andrew Carnegie's steel,

America's cities
now reach the sky.

- Nothing's impossible.

- NARRATOR: But after his
name is linked

to one of the worst disasters
in American history,

Carnegie's empire
begins to fray.

His chairman, Henry Frick,
pushes his workers

to the breaking point...

- (explosion)

- (man screaming)

- NARRATOR: ...causing
them to fight back...

- MAN: All of those
in favor of striking,

raise your hands.

- (crowd cheering)

- NARRATOR: ...barricading
Carnegie Steel's flagship plant,

and when Frick decides
to take it back by force...

- Fire!

Subtitles downloaded from www.OpenSubtitles.org

- NARRATOR: ... an attempt
is made on his life.

- Mr. Frick!

- (gunshot)

- NARRATOR: Andrew
Carnegie is forced

to rethink everything.

- (Blues Saraceno playing
"Save My Soul")

? When I got to Memphis ?

? To put my ol'
baby down ?

? He said, "I can't
take you to Heaven" ?

? "I can't save
your soul" ?

? "I can't promise
forever" ?

? Whoa, yeah, got my
heart in your hands ?

? I can't feel ?

? Feel my soul ?

- NARRATOR: With
his chairman shot,

and his workers rebelling,
Andrew Carnegie's back

is against the wall.

His company--
and his reputation--

are under threat.

And the empire he spent
a lifetime building

is on the verge of collapse.

Hoping to salvage
his legacy,

Carnegie cuts short
his trip abroad,

and returns to Pittsburgh.

- (ship horn blows)

- (bell tolls)

- NARRATOR: Henry Frick
survives the attempt on his life.

- FRICK: Ahh!

- NARRATOR: Only three days
after being shot and stabbed,

he's back in his
office at Carnegie Steel.

- (grunting)

- NARRATOR: Frick's
brush with death only

strengthens his resolve.

But for his boss,
Andrew Carnegie,

it's a reminder that his
chairman is a liability.

- DAVID NASAW: There came
a time when Frick

thought to himself,
"I'm running this business.

I'm the one in Pittsburgh.

I'm the one working
the twelve-hour days.

I'm the one taking the
bullet in the head.

I deserve to
be number one."

- NARRATOR: Carnegie's
relationship with Frick

deteriorates,

and he realizes he needs
to make a change.

- DAVID NASAW:
Carnegie isn't happy.

He whispers to newspaper
reporters in Pittsburgh

that if he had
have been around,

it would've
been different.

That there wouldn't have
been this bloodshed.

That he had more
respect for the workers.

And he undercuts Frick.

- NARRATOR: But Frick
refuses to accept

any responsibility.

Outraged that Carnegie
has hung him out to dry,

he even goes behind his
back and attempts

to orchestrate a
hostile takeover.

Carnegie Steel is eroding
from the inside out.

But the biggest challenge
to Carnegie's empire

isn't coming from within.

A new threat is emerging.

J.P. Morgan is a banker,

who's made a fortune
consolidating broken industries,

buying out
failing companies,

and returning them
to profitability.

Companies like
Carnegie Steel.

- DONALD TRUMP:
You look at J.P. Morgan,

the way he
controlled the banks.

Basically he's one man who
just literally dominated

the banking industry,
and, essentially,

dominated financing
in the country.

- NARRATOR: Morgan most
recently consolidated

parts of the broken
railroad industry,

making them profitable

by eliminating
unnecessary competition.

- We need an answer.
- We'll win this war.

- (rapping on table)
- You wanna come to war?

- I've heard enough.

This is what's
going to happen.

There's going to be
an end to this war.

The Morgan Bank will buy
the West Shore

and lease it to the Central.

They'll also buy the
central stake in the South

Pennsylvania in exchange
for a share in other railroads.

- MAURY KLEIN: He excelled
at taking warring parties,

who were destroying
an industry,

and bringing peace on terms
that were suitable to them,

profitable to him,

and which gave him
leverage in the business itself.

Anyone who knew anything
about him realized that,

like him or not,
he got things done.

- NARRATOR: Due to
Frick's callousness,

Andrew Carnegie fears he might
become Morgan's next target.

He makes a bold move.

One that's become
all but inevitable.

- (knocking)

- Andy?

- CARNEGIE: Henry.
How are you?

- Fine.
- CARNEGIE: Good.

The board of managers
met yesterday.

- I was unaware.

- CARNEGIE: The board has
decided that it's best

if Carnegie Steel invoked
the provision

of their agreement with you.

You will have to surrender
your interest in the company.

You will, of course,
receive full compensation

at book value.

- Carnegie!

- (pounding)

- FRICK: Carnegie!

- (toilet flushing)

- NARRATOR: As Carnegie
struggles to repair

his broken empire,

J.P. Morgan continues
to target failing companies,

working alongside
his legendary father.

Junius Morgan is the founder

of one of the world's first
modern investment banks,

a financial empire that
will come to be known

as the House of Morgan.

- H.W. BRANDS:
J.P. Morgan was born

into the banking business.

His father was one of
the first generation

of trans-Atlantic bankers,
and as a result

he identified finance
as the industry

that was going to command
all other industries.

- NARRATOR: From the
time he could count,

J.P. is taught there is only
one way to do business:

the Morgan way.

Investing other people's
money

to make a fortune
for yourself.

- I will return tonight.

See that these accounts
balance by then.

- JENNIFER TONKOVICH:
Morgan's father

had a controlling presence.

Junius really didn't sort
of take his eye off Morgan

for so many years.

It was very difficult
for him to bear.

- Go ahead. Open it.

Now pick it up.
Feel the weight.

You know what that is?

That's what it feels like
to hold a million dollars.

Now,

learn to earn it yourself.

- NARRATOR: J.P.
Morgan's strained relationship

with his father continues.

And by age forty, he's
looking to create

an identity of his own.

- Is all this furniture
really necessary?

- That painting's four
hundred years old.

- Yes, sir.

- I don't see why
you feel the need

to pillage Europe
of its art.

- I bought a few
paintings, Father,

not a whole gallery.

- The bank of England have
asked me to handle

their next bond issue,
so I'm assuming

you're accompanying me
back to London?

- I have plenty of
work to do here.

- Just remember where our
loyalties lie, Pierpont.

- I'll try not to forget.

- Let me know
how you get on.

I'll leave you in peace
to arrange your paintings.

- H.W. BRANDS: J.P.

Morgan understood
the game,

and at some point
he realized that,

as successful as
his father had been,

he could become even
more successful.

- NARRATOR: Morgan's
father always taught him

to avoid taking
big risks,

but J.P.Morgan is tired of doing
things his father's way.

He doesn't want to
simply buy businesses,

he wants to build them
from the ground up.

He's watched as John
Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie

have built empires
from nothing,

and he wants to be next.

But to do that, Morgan
needs to find

an innovation to
call his own.

He sets his sights on one of the
world's most famous inventors.

Thomas Edison has been
a renowned innovator

since the age of nineteen.

He first made his name by
perfecting the telegraph

before going on to
invent the stock ticker,

and the phonograph.

In his lifetime,
Edison will secure

over one thousand patents.

But now, at thirty-one,
Edison is on the verge

of his greatest
innovation yet.

- RICHARD PARSONS: Edison
had that unique ability

to sort of look
at this thing,

then figure out how
to use it in a way

that no one had thought
of to use it before.

- So this is where
genius resides.

- "Genius is
eternal patience."

- Michelangelo.

- NARRATOR: One invention
catches Morgan's eye:

the light bulb, and the
electricity that powers it.

- A stream of invisible
energy that heat

tiny filaments in the
bulbs that like magic,

make them glow.

- NARRATOR: Electric light
will revolutionize the world.

Like fire, or the wheel, it will
transform human existence.

J.P. Morgan sees the potential
in the revolutionary new

technology immediately,

and knows it's his chance

to create his own legacy.

One that will change
the world forever.

As the turn of the
twentieth century

approaches, America is
the most rapidly growing

country on earth.

Rail,

oil,

and steel

have driven the expansion.

But a new technology
is emerging

that may be
even more powerful.

Electricity has
the potential

to completely change the world,

and J.P.Morgan sees it as
something he can own.

- RUSSELL SIMMONS: Most
people are too busy

looking on the outside to
really check

what their barometers
say inside,

so as an entrepreneur,

if you look inside,
you'll find things

that they all need that could
become immensely popular,

if someone had the
courage to promote.

Or to build it.

- NARRATOR:
For years,

J.P.Morgan has lived in
the long shadow

of his legendary father.

He's desperate for a way
to make his own mark,

and electricity
might be it.

Morgan is considering
an investment in Thomas

Edison's company, and
his newly-developed

electric light bulb.

He hires Edison to install
electric lighting in his

home on Fifth
Avenue, in New York.

- Sometimes you've
got to take ownership.

They call it "eating your
own dog food", right?

If you aren't willing
to use your own product,

then how is anybody else going
to trust it and have confidence?

You know, some people
might call that being

a showman, I call it
demonstrating trust

in your product, which any
smart business has to do.

- NARRATOR: The Morgan
home quickly turns

into a laboratory for
Thomas Edison's

famous electric experiments.

Edison installs a small
power plant in a shed

on Morgan's property.

He then runs four thousand
feet of wiring through

the walls and ceilings
of the house,

and installs nearly four
hundred electric light bulbs,

some of the first
to ever be manufactured.

After months of
trial and error,

the home is ready
to be displayed.

- JERRY WEINTRAUB: When
I believe in something,

and I want to sell
it to somebody,

I want to put it
in the best light.

I don't just package it,
I creatively package it.

- NARRATOR: Morgan invites
many--including his father--

to see the marvel
of electric lighting

for the first time,

knowing the demonstration
will put him

at the forefront
of a new industry.

- Ladies and gentlemen,

behold the miracle
of modern science.

The gas lamp is dead.

Long live the
electric light.

- (click)

- (laughing)

- (applause)

- Every light you see is
powered by electricity.

There is no gas,
no oil, no flame.

Just a invisible
stream of energy.

- JILL JONNES:
Electricity was viewed

as something miraculous,
and people were amazed.

First of all, they didn't
understand how it worked,

because you can't
see electricity,

and so it was viewed as
something almost magical

by most people.

- NARRATOR:
J.P. Morgan's home

is the first
private residence in the world

to be lit
with electricity.

- Well Father,
what do you think?

- You disappoint
me, Pierpont.

I thought you knew better.

- This is the future.

- This is the stuff of
carnivals and fairs.

And you've been
played for a fool.

- NARRATOR: Despite his
father's disappointment,

Morgan's event
is a success.

- You're about to
become a very busy man.

Darius Ogden Mills wants
you to electrify his home.

- He'll have to wait.

The Vanderbilt family's
next on my list.

- NARRATOR: Electricity
becomes a must-have

for the country's elite,

with one notable exception,

John D. Rockefeller.

Rockefeller has created
the largest fortune

in America by refining
oil for kerosene lamps.

He realizes electric
light has the potential

to replace kerosene as
America's primary light source.

If the technology
goes mainstream,

Rockefeller will face his
biggest challenge ever.

Following the success of
his home lighting display,

Morgan believes that
electricity could be

the opportunity he's
been waiting for,

his chance to control
a new business from its start,

and become a pioneer
like Carnegie and Rockefeller.

But investing in Edison
goes against everything

J.P. Morgan's father has
ever taught him.

- DONNY DEUTSCH: You have
to be able to take risk.

You can't have greatness
in anything without

putting it on the line.

Otherwise, everybody
would have it.

If there was no
apparent loss,

if there was no chance
of tremendous failure

or tremendous setback, you
can't have the upside.

- To what do I owe the
pleasure, Mr. Morgan?

- There's a noise
in the basement.

It's upsetting my wife.

- It's the generator.

I'll send someone
around to soundproof it.

- (toy train whirs)

- JUNIUS MORGAN: You
disappoint me, Pierpont.

I thought you knew better.

- J.P. MORGAN: This
is the future.

- JUNIUS MORGAN: This is the
stuff of carnivals and fairs.

And you've been
played for a fool.

- How much competition
do you have, Edison?

- Nothing worthy of note.

You know, if you could
help me raise money

to install a central
power station,

there'd be no need to
have a generator

in your basement.

I could power anything
within a half-mile radius.

- What would it take to light
all the homes in New York City?

- I'd need a network
of power stations.

- J.P. MORGAN: What
would the cost be?

- EDISON: I'll have to
go through my figures.

- Bring them to
me Monday morning.

That model train set--
powered by electricity?

- Yes.

- I want one for my
daughter's birthday next week.

- NARRATOR: For Morgan, the
potential reward is too great.

Against his
father's advice,

he invests everything
in electricity,

determined to create
his own legacy,

even if it means going
against everything

he's ever been taught.

America is undergoing
amazing changes.

Steel is building
futuristic cities

of unimaginable height, and
kerosene is lighting homes

across the country.

But, a magical new
innovation is emerging,

and J.P. Morgan is determined
to bring it to the world.

- (laughter and applause)

- NARRATOR: Electricity
has captured

the public's imagination,
but the technology is

still unproven, and
virtually unused.

But partnered with
Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan

is convinced he can
bring electricity

to the entire country.

- There is no success
without risk taking,

and I think that
is actually what distinguishes

the captains
of industry from others.

- NARRATOR: Morgan gives
Edison what amounts

to eighty-three million
dollars today,

and together they
form a new business,

the Edison Electric
Light Company.

Funding Edison is a
huge risk for Morgan,

and goes against everything his
father taught him.

For years, Morgan was
instructed to avoid

investing in new and
unproven industries.

But where his father
sees risk,

J.P. Morgan sees
opportunity.

- STEVE CASE:
I think what's great

about the truly transformative
inventions

and the entrepreneurial ideas
that really end up having

a significant impact is they
start relatively small

and most people don't quite
understand

even what you're talking about,
and they take some time

before they get traction, but
eventually they break

through and the impact's
far broader than anybody,

you know, could
have imagined.

- NARRATOR: Morgan and
Edison get right to work,

transforming a building in
Lower Manhattan

into the world's first central
power station,

a high-tech wonder filled
with massive generators

capable of lighting
thousands of homes.

- The idea was that from
this central station

would flow all this
direct current,

but it also meant that
it had to be transmitted.

- MAURY KLEIN: The future
of electricity

wasn't just illumination.

It was power, and power
required transmission

over long distance.

- NARRATOR: Edison's
workers labor day and night,

digging a network of ditches
over fifteen miles long.

They lay over one hundred
thousand feet of thick

copper wire, connecting
Edison's power station

to hundreds of homes and
businesses throughout New York.

Edison's power grid becomes the
model for how electricity

is transmitted in the
United States.

- JILL JONNES: He had
never worked so long

and so hard at any invention
to make it functional

as he did with electricity.

- NARRATOR: With Edison's
power station up and running,

a new era dawns.

The city lights up for
the first time ever.

And soon, Edison's power
grid covers half of Manhattan.

Electric streetlights
line avenues,

and homes throughout New York
are buzzing with electricity.

- JIM CRAMER: Edison had
a big think approach

which said that, "We can build
giant distribution centers

and make it so that
electricity is cheap

enough for the masses."

What a brilliant idea.

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan

and Thomas Edison
stand to make a fortune.

But their success
is bad news

for the most powerful
man in the country.

Until now, John
Rockefeller has been

virtually unchallenged
while providing light

to homes from coast to coast.

But as Edison's power grid
expands over a greater

and greater area, he realizes
his kerosene empire is at risk.

Every home Edison wires
with electricity

is a lost customer for
John Rockefeller.

- The great titans
of the late 1800s,

like Rockefeller,
they tended to be very ruthless.

They were interested in
dominating the market,

and moved in every way
they could to get as big

a chunk of the market as
they could in order to

ensure their own profits.

- JIM CRAMER: The
industrialists

of that time are naked
capitalists.

They absolutely
wanted to get rich,

and they wanted to build
something that lasted.

Rockefeller wanted
Standard Oil

to be the greatest oil company
in the world.

- NARRATOR: Rockefeller
launches a targeted

campaign against
electricity.

Painting the new
technology as dangerous,

even deadly, he warns of
mass electrocutions

and out-of-control fires.

Rockefeller knows if he
can frighten the public,

kerosene will continue
to be the dominant light source.

- JERRY WEINTRAUB:
I am not a good enemy.

I'm a terrible enemy.

So, if you screw around
with me, or you hurt me,

I'm gonna hurt you back.

Now that doesn't mean
physically, but I will,

in the end, win.

Because I'm a winner,
and I don't lose.

- NARRATOR: But
John D. Rockefeller

is about to become the least
of Morgan's problems.

A new competitor emerges.

- ANNOUNCER: Ladies and
gentleman, Nikola Tesla!

- (applause)

- NARRATOR: A war over the
future of electricity is coming,

and J.P. Morgan could be
the first casualty.

America's explosive change
transforms

the world's view
of the country.

Where many once
saw failure,

innovation is now leading
the nation into a new age.

Railroads, oil, and steel
have rebuilt the country,

and electricity is
creating unimagined advances.

J.P. Morgan's attempt
to unseat John D. Rockefeller

as the man
lighting America has led him

to partner with Thomas
Edison to form

one of the first electric
companies, and together,

they're electrifying
homes throughout New York.

- The inventions, the
things that literally

almost come
out of nowhere,

require incredible
vision and support

from leadership, because
those are big leaps.

If a leader doesn't take
that invention

and really embrace it and own
it, it won't happen.

- NARRATOR: Morgan has
gone against his father's

advice by backing Edison,
but he's maintained

one of the rules he's learned.

- How much competition
do you have, Edison?

- Nothing worthy of note.

- NARRATOR: Edison
is ignoring what's

potentially the biggest
challenge to his design

for electricity, and it
comes from inside his own lab.

His apprentice,
Nikola Tesla.

- JILL JONNES:
Nikola Tesla,

from a very young age, was
obsessed with electricity.

And when he first
meets Thomas Edison,

initially he
worships him...

- Mr. Edison, sir.

- What is it?

- I was wondering if you
had chance to look

at my AC motor design.

- Nobody's interested
in your design, Tesla.

Alternating current
is not safe,

which is why we
use direct current.

- NARRATOR: Tesla has
developed a new form

of electricity known as
"alternating current", or "AC".

But Edison believes that
higher voltage AC

is more dangerous than the
direct current electric standard

he's pioneered.

- JILL JONNES: I think
Edison probably saw Tesla

as a junior employee.

I mean, remember.

Edison is world-famous,
and Tesla's just one

of many very bright young
men who work for him,

and the fact that he's
pushing AC is no big deal

to Edison, because Edison
sees himself as the person

who's really solved this problem
and made it commercial.

- What's this?

- My resignation.

- You won't find anybody
else to employ you.

- I'll set up
my own company.

- Good luck finding
an investor.

- NARRATOR: Now free to
pursue his own ideas,

Tesla begins looking
for an investor

to back his AC technology.

He finds one in
inventor-turned-businessman

George Westinghouse.

- TESLA: The magnetic
field, when it moves,

it carries the
motor around.

Motor powers itself.

- How far do you
think you can take AC?

I mean, what is
its potential?

- TESLA: Build
one power plant,

can supply enough
electricity to eastern

part of United States.

- That's amazing.

- NARRATOR: Morgan and
Edison may have lit up New York,

but Westinghouse and
Tesla believe alternating

current's greater power
is more effective...

- Thank you.

- NARRATOR: ...and they
set out to prove it.

- Good luck, Nikola.

- Thank you,
Mr. Westinghouse.

- ANNOUNCER: Ladies
and gentlemen,

please welcome the new
wizard of electricity,

Nikola Tesla!

- (applause)

- My first demonstration
is for those amongst you

who fear that AC and high
voltage will make

the world unsafe.

- (electricity humming)

- (applause)

- NARRATOR: Tesla
travels the country,

showing AC pulsing
through him.

The successful
demonstrations have orders

for Westinghouse power
stations pouring in.

- People who understood
the science of electricity

realized that Tesla
was a new giant,

and a significant rival.

- (applause)

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan

suddenly finds himself in an
unfamiliar position.

- I thought you didn't
have any competition.

- None that are
worthy of note.

- I have just seen the
drawings and descriptions

of an electrical machine
lately patented by

Mr. Tesla, which will
revolutionize the world's

electrical business.

- AC has a very high
voltage, and is lethal.

A young boy touched a
straggling wire

and was killed instantly.

You, sir. You have DC running
through your home.

None of your
family are at risk.

- J.P. MORGAN: Edison, I see
that the electrical industry

has two competing systems
right now: AC and DC.

This world has room
for only one of 'em.

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan

is staking
everything on Thomas Edison.

But as the battle to
electrify the nation heats up,

the pressure Morgan
puts on Edison sends him

down a dark path.

America's advancement in
the last three decades

is staggering.

Railroads have replaced wagon
trails to unite the nation,

and the country's
cities stand tall on steel.

First kerosene transformed
the night,

and now,

electricity is about to
light homes from coast to coast.

Only John D. Rockefeller
isn't about to let

J.P.Morgan and Thomas Edison
put him out of business.

He's determined to keep
kerosene the leader

in the light game.

He begins a campaign to
stop electricity before

it gains traction, though he
may underestimate the draw

of this magical new power.

- (applause)

- J.P. Morgan

has more to worry
about than Rockefeller.

Morgan's father always
told him to avoid

competition at all costs.

And now he and Thomas
Edison are locked in

a heated battle over what
will become the dominant

form of electricity.

Nikola Tesla has developed
a whole new way

to transmit electricity, and
his technology threatens

to destroy everything
Morgan and Edison have built.

- J.P. MORGAN:
The electrical industry

has two competing systems
right now: AC and DC.

This world has room
for only one of 'em.

- NARRATOR: If
Morgan loses,

he risks ruining his
reputation, and his name.

Morgan ratchets up the
pressure on Edison,

telling him to take out the
competition in any way he can.

- ALAN GREENSPAN:
J.P.Morgan was, really,

an extraordinary character.

He was steely-eyed,
determined, very smart,

and somebody who had that
characteristic

"I'll take charge".

And he did.

- NARRATOR: Feeling the
pressure from Morgan,

Edison sets out on a
mission to prove his

direct current is
the safest form of electricity.

- The War of the Electric
Currents is the dark side

of Thomas Edison.

The tactic that Edison
took was to persuade

people that alternating
current was the killer current.

It is a side of Edison
we don't normally see.

- NARRATOR:
He begins using Tesla's

alternating current in a series
of demonstrations,

hoping to scare the
public about AC's power.

- Edison used all sorts
of dirty tricks

to try to discredit AC.

He killed animals
before an audience.

- NARRATOR: But nothing
seems to be slowing

the enthusiasm for Tesla's
stronger current.

Growing ever more
desperate to please Morgan,

Edison is relieved
when a letter arrives

that could be his opportunity.

A New York state prison
has been looking

to replace hanging as a
means of execution.

Many have come to believe
that the medieval method

is cruel and inhumane.

Electricity could provide
a useful alternative.

The design Edison
envisions is simple,

yet groundbreaking.

- JILL JONNES: Edison
became very happy to help

develop an electric chair,
as long as that electric

chair used Westinghouse
alternating current generators.

- NARRATOR: Edison devotes
his lab's attention to the

development of the world's
first electric chair.

It's the perfect
opportunity to prove

that Tesla's AC is dangerous...

...even deadly.

The prison invites the
press to witness

the most sensational
demonstration imaginable.

The world's first
human execution...

...by electricity.

- Is it ready?

- Yes.

- Goodbye, William.

- He's dead.

- PRISON OFFICIAL:
He's bleeding.

- He's breathing.

- I'm gonna be sick.

- JILL JONNES: They
then essentially

roasted this man alive.

It was a botched
execution.

- NARRATOR: The gruesome
act backfires on Edison.

The public doesn't
connect A.C. to Tesla.

All they remember
is that electricity

was used to kill a man.

And that Edison
was behind it.

The damage to his
reputation is massive.

And J.P. Morgan endures
an even worse fate.

- Now I have to read
in the newspaper

my son is funding Edison.

A latter-day Frankenstein.

- He didn't
pull the switch.

- Let me make a few
points clear to you.

I do not want the
House of Morgan

associated with electricity.

Or any of the
devil's works.

I have spent my life
making a name

and I am not about to
let you destroy it.

- I have a chance
to build here--

- Pierpont!

It's over.

I set sail for
Monaco tomorrow.

While I'm away, see
to it you sell

whatever stakes you have
in these Edison companies.

- NARRATOR: Morgan set
out to become

a legendary innovator
in his own right.

But now his dream has
come crashing down.

Edison has played directly
into John Rockefeller's hands.

Demonstrating electricity
to be dangerous and deadly.

Morgan knows that pulling
his funds from Edison

would completely destroy
the electric industry.

And leave Rockefeller at
the top of the light game.

But despite his
father's objections...

...Morgan is still convinced
that electricity is the future.

And soon, news of a new
project reignites his ambitions.

A project that will remove the
stain of Edison's experiments...

...and restore the public's
trust in the electric industry.

Electricity is about
to go national.

A company at Niagara
Falls has begun work

on one of the most ambitious
construction projects

ever undertaken.

The world's largest power
plant is being built.

And 1 ,300 men are digging
a massive tunnel

2.5 miles into bedrock.

Once complete, the raw
power of the falls

will generate a mind boggling
120,000 horse power.

More than all the
electricity being produced

throughout the country...

...combined.

- MAURY KLEIN: Niagara is
a watershed in the history

of the electric industry.

It shows that it is
not only feasible

but practical to transmit
electricity over distance.

- NARRATOR: The Niagara
power station will be capable

of generating
enough electricity to light

the entire Northeast.

- JILL JONNES: To take
such a incredibly famous place

that's got this
extraordinary water power

and harness it to
electricity was going to make

the case to the world
that this was something

you could do everywhere.

- NARRATOR: But the
Niagara Power Company

hasn't yet decided
who will power the generators...

...Morgan and
Edison's D.C. Or Tesla's A.C.

The world's biggest power
station would be

a huge game changer.

J.P. Morgan knows it's
his opportunity

to create the empire
he's always wanted.

But he also knows that
getting the contract

to power Niagara would require
a massive investment.

One his father
would never allow.

Morgan agonizes over
his next move...

...until tragedy strikes.

- Sir.

- NARRATOR: His
father has been

in a horrible
carriage crash.

Junius Morgan dies as a
result of his injuries.

J.P. is now left in charge
of the House of Morgan.

The empire includes a vast
portfolio of businesses

invested in railroads,
real estate, shipping,

manufacturing...

...and electricity.

With his father gone,
nothing is holding Morgan back.

- JENNIFER TONKOVICH:
When Junius died it

was truly a devastating
moment for Morgan.

But also it ended up
being a bit of a relief,

because after his father's death
he really came into his own.

The freedom really helped
him realize

the full potential
in some ways.

- NARRATOR: Morgan's
net worth more than quadruples.

And instantly he has
hundreds of millions of dollars.

Money he plans on using

to win the Niagara contract.

- The best time to buy is when
there's blood on the streets.

- I'm not sure
I follow you.

- It's advice Lloyd
Rothschild gave my father.

It's advice he never took.

I'm increasing my
investment to $4 million.

I'll give you an extra
million dollars in cash

to pursue other projects.

- That shouldn't
be a problem.

- Good. The Niagara Falls Power
Company is inviting bids

for the new Niagara Falls
central power station.

They haven't yet decided
if they want to go

with A.C or D.C.

I want you to prepare
a bid, Edison.

This is now a race.

You better win.

- RICHARD PARSONS: Timing
is everything in business.

Everybody wants to
be the first mover.

Everybody wants to be
on the bleeding edge,

or the cutting edge.

You have to be on the
pulse of the moment.

Timing in business is
just like timing in life.

It is perhaps as important
as any other single factor.

- NARRATOR: Construction
of the Niagara Power Station

is continuing
at a blistering pace.

(explosions)

Workmen are almost
finished

with a 2.5-mile-long tunnel.

And it won't be long until
water shoots through it...

...powering turbines
the size of houses.

Those turbines will
generate enough

electricity to light up
the entire northeast.

Morgan knows that
to win the contract,

he'll need to eliminate
the competition.

Tesla and Westinghouse
are making headway

with alternating current.

But after their company's
rapid expansion,

Westinghouse is
drowning in debt.

And his business is
struggling to stay afloat.

J.P. Morgan sees an opportunity
to take advantage

of his vulnerability.

- (crowd yelling)

- JILL JONNES: J.P. Morgan

was a huge power on
the stock market

when it was not
at all regulated.

In the case of
George Westinghouse,

his company on a
number of occasions,

was assaulted on the stock
market by Morgan entities.

- NARRATOR: Morgan
capitalizes on a downturn

in the economy.

...launching a smear
campaign designed

to trigger a sell-off of
Westinghouse stock.

- JOURNALISTS: Mr. Morgan!

Mr. Morgan!

- What is to be done
about the panic?

- There's no
need to panic.

- Mr. Morgan, are we on the
verge of a depression?

- Not if we act wisely.

- Now how many more companies
will go bust, Mr. Morgan?

- The only companies at risk

are those fast expanding
capital intensive,

debt-ridden ventures.

Thank you, gentlemen.

- Mr. Morgan!
Mr. Morgan!

- NARRATOR: Morgan's
remarks are subtle.

But his influence on
Wall Street is so great,

their effect
is devastating.

Over the next few weeks,
investors sell off

Westinghouse's stock,
sending the company

into a tailspin.

Within days, it's
almost bankrupt.

- DONNY DEUTSCH: You get
successful at something

and all of a sudden you
make a lot of money

and the world says
you're successful.

There's no margin
for failure anymore.

There's only
degrees of success.

NARRATOR: With
Westinghouse driven into debt,

Morgan is convinced
there's no longer

any competition to win the
contract for Niagara.

Unable to raise
additional funds,

Westinghouse is ready
to admit defeat.

- Tesla, the reason I'm
here is to tell you

my company is on the
verge of bankruptcy.

- You have my
A.C. motor designs,

- It's the opposite.

Nobody will lend me money

because of your royalty
deal on your patents.

- The benefits that will
come to civilization

from my polyphase system

will mean more to me
than money involved.

Mr. Westinghouse, you
will save your company

to develop my invention.

This is my contract, and
I will tear it to pieces,

and you will no longer
have any troubles

from my royalties.

- Thank you, Nikola.

NARRATOR: Tesla gives
Westinghouse control of A.C.

and forgoes all
claim to his patents.

Investments soon pour in.

And Westinghouse
Electric is viable again.

Westinghouse knows
that to beat Morgan,

he needs a bold move.

And soon, he has the
perfect opportunity.

Chicago is about
to host

one of the globe's
landmark events--

the World's Fair.

Organizers want it to be
the most stunning display

of technology ever seen.

They decide to light the entire
event using electricity.

- JILL JONNES: The
managers and the creators

of the Chicago World's
Fair of 1893 want to have

an entirely electric city.

They want to be
cutting edge.

They invite companies
to bid

on this contract to
electrify the fair.

- NARRATOR: Morgan assumes
that he and Edison

are a lock to light the fair.

But Westinghouse
has other plans.

He drastically
underbids the project...

...claiming the can light
the fair for less

than a quarter of what Morgan
and Edison have bid.

The bold move
secures the contract,

and Westinghouse and Tesla
immediately get to work

wiring the fairgrounds.

And finally, on
opening night,

with the eyes of the
world on Chicago,

they flip the switch.

And instantly, over 200,000
light bulbs come to life.

- JILL JONNES: 27 million
people came to this Fair

and saw an
electrified world.

And that had a huge,
huge impact

on spreading
this technology.

People realized there was a
whole electrical future coming.

- NARRATOR: It's a display

unlike any the world
has ever seen.

And it's all powered using
George Westinghouse

and Nikola Tesla's
alternating current electricity.

The fair forever
demonstrates the safety

and viability of A.C.

Westinghouse and Tesla's
incredible display

has another consequence.

A decision is made on who
will power

the Niagara Falls station.

Two letters go out...

...but only one man
can win the contract.

America is now the most
technologically advanced

nation on the planet.

Trains, oil, and steel
have built the country,

and the newest sensation,
is electric light.

Showcased at the
Chicago World's Fair,

electricity is about
to go national.

But a battle
has broken out.

Pitting J.P. Morgan

and Thomas Edison
against George Westinghouse

and
Nikola Tesla.

In a fight for control of the
world's largest power plant...

...at Niagara Falls.

- STEVE CASE: If you're
really trying

to not just to create a company,
but to create a new industry

and change the world
in a fundamental way,

you really need to believe
in the idea and stick

with it through
thick and thin

because it's going
to be a tough road.

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan
has invested

millions into
the electric industry...

...hoping to
replace John D. Rockefeller

as the man
lighting America...

...and the Niagara Power
Plant could give him

control over the
future of electricity.

- JILL JONNES: Whoever
wins this contract

is going to be the preeminent
electrical company--

not just in America,
but the world.

- NARRATOR: The plant at Niagara
Falls reaches a decision.

And two letters go out.

But there can only
be one winner.

In a shocking twist...

...George Westinghouse
wins the contract

for the power station.

- JACK WELCH: You
always want to be

in the winning locker
room.

You don't want to be in
the loser's locker room,

with a towel around your head.

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan
has been badly defeated.

His dream of building
an industry

from the ground up is over.

His attempt to make
his own name...

...ruined.

- JUNIUS: This is the
stuff of carnivals and fairs.

And you've been
played for a fool.

- NARRATOR: He realizes
his father

may have been right all along.

But never willing
to admit defeat...

...J.P. Morgan sees a way to
turn failure into opportunity.

- DONALD TRUMP: J.P. Morgan

made a mistake backing
Thomas Edison.

I mean, they all
make mistakes.

And I always say that you
have to guard

against the downside.

Because it can be the
greatest deal you've ever seen,

and there is a chance that
that deal won't work out.

Don't let a deal like
that take you down

if it doesn't work.

- NARRATOR: Morgan is
determined to gain control

of the electric industry.

And he's going to do
it the Morgan way.

- JILL JONNES: If you
were on his bad side,

or he coveted
your company,

or the technology
that your company had,

you did not want to
be in that position.

- NARRATOR: Morgan returns
to the lessons of his father.

He's going to intimidate
the competition into submission.

He starts his attack by
going after Westinghouse,

and everything he owns...

...including Tesla's
A.C. electricity patents.

- MORGAN: Congratulations,
Westinghouse.

I hear you won the
Niagara Falls contract.

I'll be taking you
to court for patent

infringement over A.C. designs.

- Why would you start a
legal case

that will cost millions--
a case that you will lose?

- Because you don't have
the resources

to fight such a case--
and you'll go under.

- What is it you want?

- You know the
answer to that.

- (applause)

- My first demonstration

is for those amongst
you who fear...

- NARRATOR: Westinghouse
has no choice but to give in

to Morgan's demands.

Knowing that the cost of
a lawsuit will put him

out of business, he's forced
to sign over the patents

for Tesla's A.C. electricity.

But Morgan doesn't
stop with Westinghouse.

With the loss of the
Niagara contract,

the company Morgan started
with Thomas Edison is broken.

And Edison's D.C. electricity
looks like a failure.

- MAURY KLEIN: Thomas
Edison is probably

the most brilliant inventor
America every had.

And like many brilliant
men he was capable

of spectacularly
wrong choices.

- NARRATOR: As far as
Morgan's concerned,

there's only one way
to fix Edison Electric.

He's going to streamline
the company.

And his first step is to
eliminate Thomas Edison.

Morgan buys up additional shares
of Edison Electric stock...

...until he has complete
control of the company.

- It's a device that
shows moving pictures.

We'll put the Niagara
business behind us,

and Edison General
Electric will move forward

to greater things.

- The name of the company
has been changed--

to General Electric.

- But it's my company.

Surely I have a say.

- Not anymore--you no
longer have a majority stake.

NARRATOR: Morgan's new
electric company--

general electric--is instantly
one of the most powerful

corporations on earth...

...valued at $50 million,
or the modern equivalent

of over one billion.

With Edison
out of the way,

Morgan converts
the company to A.C. electricity.

The standard that's
still used today.

- STEVE CASE: With
General Electric,

you could tell they were
building a big company

and something that was really
going to change the world.

They were really
trying to position

it in the marketplace
as a significant,

lasting company.

NARRATOR: General Electric
will go on to become

one of America's biggest
corporations.

- DONNY DEUTSCH: The players
change, the stakes change,

but the essence of the game
stays the same.

Whether it's understanding
who it is that you have

to kind of massage, who it
is you gotta knock on the head,

who it is you have
to buy off to do this.

That's the game.

- NARRATOR: With
the creation of G.E.

J.P. Morgan has consolidated
the electric industry.

Just like he did
with the railroads.

And Wall Street.

It's a move he learned
from his father.

A move J.P. Morgan
has now made his own.

- STEVE WYNN: There's
always a reason

why you can't do something,
but if deep inside you

it's what you want very badly,
you take chances,

you measure opportunity
and get where you want to go.

- NARRATOR: J.P. Morgan
joins Rockefeller and Carnegie

as one of the most powerful men
in the country.

But Morgan's rapid
rise to the top

makes him hungrier than ever.

And as his power grows...

...his rivals are
forced to adjust.

America is the fastest
growing country on the planet.

Linked by railroads,
fueled by oil,

and built on steel.

The nation has become a
battleground

for magical new innovation.

Electricity is
transforming the world.

And with General Electric,

J.P. Morgan is the uncontested
leader in the industry...

...using his millions to
build power stations

from coast to coast.

Bringing electricity to
the masses for the first time.

- STEVE CASE:
Entrepreneurs want to

change the world, want to
have a significant impact,

don't want to just
build a company.

They want to
build an industry.

They don't want to just create
another product or service,

they really want
to fundamentally improve

aspects of people's lives.

- NARRATOR: But J.P. Morgan

doesn't want to be confined
to just one industry.

He wants to own them all.

As the head of the biggest
investment bank in the world,

Morgan has unrivaled power
and influence,

and he's
returned to his old ways.

Only now he's taken the House
of Morgan to another level.

- MAURY KLEIN: Morgan's
reach was very broad

in American industry.

He becomes the
most respected,

reliable and
trusted figure,

not only because of the
power and wealth that he wields,

but just because
of his character.

- NARRATOR: After a two
year depression,

the U.S. Treasury has become
perilously close to bankruptcy.

And there is only one man
the government can turn to.

J.P. Morgan is called
to Washington to help.

- JIM CRAMER: We think
of bankers now

as just greedy
bankster-gangsters.

Morgan was maybe one of
the greediest of all,

but he also really had
this side of him

which just said I have
faith in men,

I have faith in the country,
and I am going to lend it.

- NARRATOR: Morgan puts
together a loan

worth over $100 million,
almost $3 billion today,

and bails out the
federal government.

Saving the American
economy from complete collapse.

- DONALD TRUMP: J.P. Morgan

was really
the country's banker.

Today when you think of
that, it's inconceivable.

But he would loan
the country money,

when the country
was in trouble.

- ALAN GREENSPAN: Morgan
obviously was looking

at the national interest in
the context of his own,

that is, saving
the U.S. Treasury

was an act of
basic self interest,

but it was an act
of nationalism.

- NARRATOR: Morgan's
newfound power is a huge

wakeup call to his rivals.

They see Morgan as a
threat they need to deal with.

Before he deals with them.

John Rockefeller feels
the pressure

to keep his empire intact
like never before.

Despite his best efforts
to stop it in its tracks...

...electricity has
gone mainstream.

- STEVE WOZNIAK: The people
started these great companies,

they just think out solutions
on their own to problems.

You don't do it the
way it's been done before--

that's in a book.

You go out and you try
something new cause you think

it'll, that you'll be
able to make it work...

- NARRATOR: To keep
Standard Oil profitable,

Rockefeller needs to find a
product to replace kerosene.

And the answer
may have been

in front of him
the entire time.

- Just over 100 degrees
you get a mixture of alkanes.

Sadly it can't be
used for anything.

- ROCKEFELLER: Why not?

- ANDREWS: Too volatile.

- NARRATOR: Rockefeller targets
a byproduct of refining oil

that for years has been
thrown away.

The highly flammable
runoff is soaking fields

and polluting rivers.

The toxic substance
is called gasoline...

...and so far, no one has
figured out a use for it.

- DONALD TRUMP: Oftentimes
I'm asked

do you have to be ruthless
to be very successful?

And I say, you do not
have to be ruthless,

you have to be smart.

Smart is the key word.

You have to be smart.

- NARRATOR: Rockefeller
hires a team of scientists

to try to find a use
for the toxic substance.

First they create
small products...

...like synthetic beeswax
and petroleum jelly.

But Rockefeller becomes
convinced gasoline

has a bigger potential.

The quest to create a
more powerful motor

leads to the development of the
internal combustion engine.

The exact properties
that make gasoline so dangerous,

also make it the perfect fuel
to power this engine.

- JACK WELCH: You're
always looking

for the next innovation.

The next niche.

The next product
improvement.

The next service
improvement.

You're always trying
to get better.

- NARRATOR: The timing is
perfect for Rockefeller.

Already in possession of
the world's largest supply

of gasoline, he starts
using gasoline powered

engines to run machines
in his refineries.

The efficiency and power
of the engine quickly make

it the standard in
factories across the country.

But when the engine
is put on wheels...

...creating what's being called
"the horseless carriage"...

..Rockefeller realizes
that gasoline could be

even bigger than kerosene.

But right when
Rockefeller sees

the future of the
oil industry...

- WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN:
No man could earn a

million dollars honestly.

- NARRATOR: An outside
threat emerges.

- WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN:
I will tear down these trusts!

- NARRATOR: ...who could
destroy everything he--

and his rivals--have built.

- WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN:
Do you hear me Carnegie?

Do you hear me Rockefeller?

- NARRATOR: As the 20th
century approaches.

J.P. Morgan and John
Rockefeller have been locked

in a battle pitting
electricity against kerosene.

Their rival,
Andrew Carnegie,

has stayed out
of the fray.

He's been quietly building his
steel empire bigger than ever.

Including landing
lucrative contracts

with the U.S. Navy to provide
steel for warships.

Making him one of the country's
first defense contractors.

- DONNY DEUTSCH: The great
business icons--it's not

that they were worth
hundreds of millions,

or billions, or
trillions of dollars,

it's that they moved
society forward.

Whatever their
motivations,

whatever it was,
they--being here

and their lust for success,
for power, for money,

for fame--moved
us forward.

- NARRATOR: But now,
J.P. Morgan

is about to take
business to a whole new level.

He begins looking for
other ways to make money.

Building on his
father's business model.

He creates a tactic
that's so innovative,

it becomes known
as "Morganization."

- "Morganization," in effect,

means taking companies
that were fighting each other,

bringing them together,

and managing the company
in such a way that

competition is reduced,
profits are increased.

In other words, trying
to impose order on these

fiercely competitive
industries.

- NARRATOR: Morgan starts
restructuring companies

in industries across
the country.

Firing workers
and eliminating inefficiencies.

While prioritizing profits
over everything else.

And soon, Morgan's rivals
adopt the same approach.

- STEVE WYNN: The private
sector--greed, ambition,

dreamers, the stuff
of entrepreneurs;

look at it too closely,
you may not admire it

as much as you do
after the fact.

- NARRATOR: Carnegie
and Rockefeller

begin Morganizing
their own companies.

Maximizing profits by
slashing their workforce.

Those who still
have a job...

...are forced to
work longer hours.

For even less pay.

- JIM CRAMER: What we saw
during this golden age

of capitalism was the
unregulated side

of capitalism that make
us feel, these days,

glad for federal
government,

because no one else was
keeping an eye on things.

- NARRATOR: Conditions for
workers across the country

become almost
unbearable...

...as going to work
for many Americans,

becomes a dangerous
proposition.

- STEVEN WATTS: You
had a working class

or even the unemployed who
had a very hard time of it.

They had low paying jobs,
if any at all in this

period, a little bit
above starvation wages,

many of them.

So, there's a growing
disparity of wealth

in this period that
was very striking.

- DONNY DEUTSCH:
What people defined

as haves and have-nots, super
rich, hedge fund guys,

and people just trying
to pay their mortgage.

It's still nowhere near
what was going on

in the old days as far
as, you know,

truly abusive
conditions for workers.

- NARRATOR: The gap
between the rich and the

poor continues to grow...

...at a staggering rate.

While the working
class struggles...

...profits for
Carnegie, Morgan,

and Rockefeller are
better than ever.

To millions of workers
around the country,

the titans of industry
are a symbol of everything

wrong with America.

A seething undercurrent
of anger takes hold.

One that quickly
bubbles to the surface.

With an election
year on the horizon,

a politician from Nebraska
is channeling

the public's frustrations.

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN:
I will tear down those trusts.

- NARRATOR: And directing
them right

at America's richest men.

- WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN:
Do you hear me Carnegie?

Do you hear me
Rockefeller?

- NARRATOR: William
Jennings Bryan is an up

and coming political force
who's drawing huge crowds...

...vowing to put an end to
the country's monopolies.

But Bryan's promise of
change is bad news

for the leaders of
American business.

- H.W. BRANDS: To many people
it seemed as though big money,

big corporations,
the biggest of all

Standard Oil, were
taking over the country.

From this emerged the
progressive movement.

And a major part of its platform
was antitrust legislation.

Not just legislation, but
antitrust prosecution.

- NARRATOR:
Rockefeller, Carnegie,

and Morgan have built entire
industries from the ground up.

They're not about to let
a charismatic politician

destroy their empires.

But public opinion is
solidifying against them.

And as Bryan begins a
campaign for the White House...

...the Titans know that
stopping him won't be easy.

They devise a
plan so bold,

no one has ever
attempted it before.

There's only
one problem...

...to be successful,
they can't work alone.

For the first time,
America's most powerful

men will have to put
their rivalries aside...

...and start
working together.

- CARNEGIE: What do you think?

- We need to buy the President.

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