In the video “Men Who Built America” some back grounding from the video have to do with Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and his side along worker Frick. America had just now bounced back from the Civil War coming back stronger than ever. Vanderbilt used force against the people to build his major railroad. On the other side we have Rockefeller; he created a complete monopoly of all oil industries. Carnegie found a new product (steel) making America rise from the ground to the sky with new structures. After finding a new product, Carnegie pushes his workers even harder after a disaster blamed on him but this causes an out burst from the workers and they form a strike. A strike was called due to low wages and very unsafe working environments.

During this strike Frick takes it into his own hands and uses force on the strikers killing and injuring some workers but this just caused Frick problems having an attempt of his own life. The three key things I found in this video is about how J.P. Morgan grew up his objectives that he grew up on, like the way his dad had treated him why he was growing up. Another key point I found was how Morgan had decided to work with Thomas Edison and the benefits of working with him. The last key point I found was how Thomas Edison had turn down Nikola Tesla, then Tesla could be better than Edison.

J.P. Morgan was I like to say mistreated during his childhood because he didn’t have a childhood basically. His childhood involved during and helping with his fathers businesses and learning everything that there was to know under the age of 10. His father never wanted him to be like the other kids his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps without screwing it up. Morgan went into banking at the age of 20 at his father’s London branch, moving to New York City in 1858 (21) where he worked at the banking house of Duncan, Sherman ; Company, the American representatives of George Peabody ; Company. He acted as agent in New York for his father’s firm. Morgan wanted to do everything thing this dad wants him to do to make him proud but his father said to never take risks, and that’s the one thing that Morgan had to do. I think Morgan was way better than his dad by taking the risks he did.

The big risk Morgan had taken was working with Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb. Morgan had decided to work with him because of the advantages about working with him because of his invention. About the money and people it would bring in. Although he was having great success his father still had great disappointment in him still because he did do what he had said to and not take any risks. A couple good points about Morgan working with Edison is that he was one of the greatest inventors that brought in quite a lot of money back then. Another good thing is that Edison never stopped thinking about his next projects or inventions or even what could make his already created inventions better and better which brought in even more money and consumers. The only bad thing about working with Edison is the chance he could make a bad decision or choice.

Thomas Edison made a huge mistake denying and refusing to look or discuss Tesla’s invention of the A/C. Edison’s excuse for not looking at his invention was that it was too dangerous and that there was no point to even look because of that. Edison would soon discover that he was the fool and not Tesla. Edison came up with the D/C which he says is less dangerous because of less power to it. Where Tesla had the A/C after working with Edison for awhile coming up with this idea, which supposedly Edison says it has too much of a high power, in other words “dangerous”, which was just a myth by Edison. Tesla ended up turning in his resignation and continuing his invention finding an investor right away after making a small presentation model. Tesla traveled around with his investor showing and stunning other people everywhere he went.

From this video I learned that back then it was a brutal world of people just craving to be the center of attention like Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison was careless of other people around him and only caring about himself, his inventions, and money. I also learned that just because someone wants you to be a certain someone and do something they want you to do just because they say so or teach you to do something, doesn’t mean you should listen to them or do exactly what they are saying and wanting you to do. Just like Morgan not listening to his father even though he was grown up learning how to follow his father’s footsteps and to not take risks.

Morgan just passed though keeping some of his father’s teachings but still taking risks that made him even more powerful and wealthier. The last thing I learned about this video was that if you want to be the best you sometimes have to take things in your own hands and find things out yourself. Tesla had to quit his job to find out and figure out how to put his idea together and turn it into an idea to a million dollar brilliant invention.

The events in the video impacted modern day America seriously. The reason I say this is because without Morgan who would find Edison? Where would his invention be or go? If Edison’s invention wasn’t found, today we would be living in the darkness only having lights/candles running on kerosene. If Edison were never to invent the light bulb we would be living in a sad cold dark world but Tesla also had a part with it. If Tesla were to throw his idea away and never were to quit working for Edison then only the New York area would have light from Edison’s invention. That wouldn’t be all that fair. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I thank these men for what they did, they may not have been all smart choices that they have chose. But if it wasn’t for then we wouldn’t be where we are today and it’s scary to imagine my life without light bulbs or steel and everything else.