How We Got Here

The historical legends of North American entrepreneurs whose ideas transformed the United States.
Nazis Get Us to the Moon
S1 E1

Rocket scientist Werhher Von Braun's involvement in the race for outer space.

Cars Win World War II
S1 E2

Henry Ford's inspiration and how it affects World War II.

Gold Makes Headlines
S1 E3

After gold has been discovered in California, a prospector named George Hearst goes west to seek it; William Randolph Hearst takes over a second rate newspaper.

Colt Makes All Men Equal
S1 E4

Samuel Colt's mass production of the revolver changes the face of war and helps transform America into an industrial powerhouse.

Denim Defeats Communism
S1 E5

Tailor Jacob Davis, who invented the copper rivet for use in clothing, joins forces with businessman Levi Strauss to make blue jeans a popular American item.

Morse Code Connects Us All
S1 E6

Painter Samuel Morse devotes the second half of his life to the perfection of the electromagnetic telegraph system.

Clara Barton Saves the World
S1 E7

Nurse Clara Barton attends to wounded soldiers at the Battle of Antietam in 1862 and later founds the American Red Cross.

Deep Throat Exposes the Presidency
S1 E8

Newspaper reporter Bob Woodward's meetings with a secret informant named "Deep Throat" lead to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.

Beer Unites America
S1 E9

German immigrant Adolphus Busch survives a deadly standoff during the Civil War and goes on to produce one of the most American products of all time.

Rockefeller's Oil Empire
S1 E11

Young bookkeeper John D. Rockefeller gambles on the budding oil industry in the 1860s and soon amasses a fortune in the billions.

Harley Hogs the Road
S1 E12

Young Milwaukee mechanics William Harley and Arthur Davidson put an engine inside a bicycle frame and revolutionize the motorcycle business.