Series
The Machines That Built America
Documentary
The stories behind innovations such as TV, radio, phones, airplanes, motorcycles and power tools as well as the inventors including Nikola Tesla, William Harley, Alexander Graham Bell, Duncan Black and Alonzo Decker.
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Seasons & episodes
1Tractor Revolution18 Jul 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0In the 1870s, harvesting crops is grueling, back-breaking work. Farmers must walk miles behind horse drawn plows to get food on American tables. But a group of dreamers--all of them rivals--has a vision that will change farming forever and create one of the world's most iconic machines: the tractor. Their quest to corner the market--worth 75 billion today--produces some of the greatest innovations and most iconic brands of all time: Caterpillar, John Deere, and Ford.
2Plane Pioneers18 Jul 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0In 1910, airplanes are a novelty, fragile wooden concoctions that float in the air--and crash. But that doesn't stop two young dreamers with a passion for this newfangled machine from imagining a very different future: one in which planes carry millions of passengers across the country, even across the seas. To realize that vision and create a lucrative new market, William Boeing and Donald Douglas take on automobile titan Henry Ford, infamous Dutch aviation giant Anthony Fokker--and each other.
3Titans of Television25 Jul 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0A ruthless mogul takes on a little-known inventor in a high stakes battle that will change the world forever, asking the question of whether a farm-boy can beat a titan with endless resources.
4Motorcycle Kings1 Aug 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0At the end of the 19th century, private travel means taking a walk or riding a horse. But scrappy upstarts William Harley and Arthur Davidson have a bold vision for a new form of transportation--connecting a motor to a bicycle. They'll take on George Hendee's Indian Motorcycle in a classic David Vs. Goliath battle, fighting to dominate a market valued at more than 7 billion dollars today, the rivals will push their machines to the limit and tap into the lure of the open road.
5Telephone Wars8 Aug 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0In the 1870s communicating with distant family requires sending a letter, and waiting days or weeks for a reply. The telegraph is faster, but too expensive for most people. When communication giant Western Union offers a colossal cash prize to anyone who can improve its network, two daring inventors go head-to-head in a fight that will forever change the way humans connect. Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray will stop at nothing to lay claim to the new technology and dominate the market.
6Power Tool Showdown15 Aug 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0
7Tesla vs. Marconi22 Aug 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0Two rival inventors have the same idea for improving things: wireless communication.
8Home Tech Revolution29 Aug 2021 · 43m · ★ 8.0With America plugging in to electric power, a flood of innovation is not only changing industry, it's revolutionizing the home; the new technology makes housework easier and gives women opportunities to work outside the home.
Details
- First aired
- 18 Jul 2021
- Last aired
- 29 Aug 2021
- Status
- Returning Series
- Language
- English
- Network
- History
- Episodes
- 8
- Votes
- 4 on TMDB
Where to watch (US)
Philo
HISTORY Vault Apple TV channel
HISTORY Vault Amazon Channel
History
Spectrum On Demand
Cast
Campbell ScottSelf - Narrator
Travis TaylorSelf - Engineer
Max HastingsArno Peterson
