When One Ends, Another Begins

This is the last episode of "The Men Who Built America"--at least according to Netflix. IMDb indicates that there are several more. I have no idea which is the case.

Episode 4 has to do with transportation and benevolence. Much of the show is about a new-comer, Henry Ford as well as the attack on Rockefeller's monopoly by the government. While the show seems to show that Teddy Roosevelt was the one who was responsible, the suit to break up Standard Oil was initiated the year AFTER Roosevelt left office. Oops.

In addition, much of the show is about the contest between Carnegie and Rockefeller to give away their fortunes (perhaps to help them buy their ways out of hell). Their benevolence seemed fascinating in light of the many people they hurt--though oddly the show never talked about this.

Overall, I found this to be a very disappointing episode. While I generally liked the series, this one seemed a bit shabby in light of the mistakes and sequential errors. In particular, while the show seemed to talk about things as they occurred throughout history, they often occurred at all different times. For example, they talked about Henry Ford and his Model T--then talked about the building of the Panama Canal (which began first).