The episode “The new machine” covers many different topics of early American history; concerning people like Henry Ford and John Rockefeller. The episode starts with Rockefeller on trial due to his monopoly with the oil industry and Rockefeller ends up losing the trial later in the episode making him go on to earn money in other ways like stocks. Rockefeller gave away at least 500 million to the public in his life Henry Ford was then introduced to the show and he had a vision for a new car that would change america. Henry Ford's design for the car was rejected but he continued trying to figure out how to make it. Henry decided to race the “fastest driver in America” and he then won the race, gaining instant fame across the nation. Henry ford went on to start manufacturing his vehicles and had a few bumps along the way. Henry fought lawsuits and managed to produce the first car that would be available to pretty much anyone in the country. The next man in the show, Ferdinand Lesseps, was in charge of the funding for the Panama Canal. He managed to raise $400 million dollars for the project and it was America's largest project at the time. These men made America what it is today. They shaped the economy and also made it a place where non wealthy people can thrive too. All of the men in the show were entrepreneurs and they changed the direction of where America was going.
This episode showed many stories of various men and how they changed America. It is a very interesting show and the way they tell the story is captivating. They go from man to man telling their stories and they didn’t just show the men who were powerful but also the men who climbed to get to the top. It’s mind blowing that monopolies exist and that one person can have so much power in the country. Monopolies were so powerful at the time it seems like some of them were even more powerful than the government which is terrifying.
These men affect society up to this day. The men in the show literally shaped America and made it what it is today. Rockefeller controlled the oil industry for a large majority of his life and oil was crucial to everyone in society and it was all in his hands. Henry ford gave America a car that almost anyone could have access to. The men behind automobiles, banks, oil, and other projects have only made America progress forward.
I would say society doesn’t affect these men too much because they were all so powerful already minus Henry Ford. Henry did need society to successfully make the new car. The other men didn’t really need society to get where they are. I would say the relationship between society and then men who built America was one sided. The men in the show pretty much just did everything they did to build their own wealth. I would say a helpful relationship between the two started happening when Carnegie and Rockefeller started projects to give society things such as banks and libraries.
