America The Story of Us

Episode 8: BOOM

Spindletop
A tremendous geyser of oil blew out of the ground atop the Spindletop salt mound in southeastern Texas on January 10, 1901, marking the birth of the modern petroleum industry. (CGI)

In 1910 in California, a column of oil nearly 200 feet high explodes out of a derrick and sets off a chain of events that will turn America into a superpower. Oil production doubles overnight and prices plummet from $2 to 3 cents a barrel. Quick to capitalize on this abundant cheap fuel is Henry Ford, a maverick entrepreneur who vows to bring the motor car to the masses. In 1900, there are 8,000 cars in the country. By 1930, there are over 20 million. As the population becomes more mobile, the entire shape of America changes. Cities grow as centers of industry, creating new opportunities and new challenges. In one of the greatest engineering projects of the century, thousands of workers divert enough water hundreds of miles across a desert to quench sprawling Los Angeles' thirst. Mass production and job opportunities prompted by the First World War draw African Americans to northern cities like Chicago, but racial conflict follows. Many Americans see the burgeoning cities as havens of vice, and chief among them is drink. A popular campaign to ban alcohol succeeds, yet when it comes, Prohibition triggers a wave of organized crime. One man set to benefit is Al Capone. He makes the equivalent of $1,500 a minute from bootleg alcohol. For a time he seems untouchable, but even he is not above the law.

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Upcoming Episodes

Southern troops storm Harpers Ferry after its capture by John Brown
Episode 4: Division
Soldiers in the Second Battle of Bull Run
Episode 5: Civil War
Transcontinental Railroad
Episode 6: Heartland
Construction of the Statue of Liberty
Episode 7: Cities
Spindletop salt mound in southeastern Texas on January 10, 1901
Episode 8: BOOM
Construction of Mount Rushmore
Episode 9: BUST
D-Day, the military invasion at Omaha beach (CGI)
Episode 10: WWII
Buzz Aldrin Standing by Flag on the Moon, 1969
Episode 11: Superpower
World Trade Center Light Memorial
Episode 12: Millennium

Show Schedule


Episodes in the next 2 weeks
  1. Wednesday, Feb 15, 10/9c Rebels: TVPG
  2. Wednesday, Feb 15, 12/11c Westward: TVPG
  3. Wednesday, Feb 15, 2/1c Civil War: TVPG
  4. Wednesday, Feb 15, 4/3c Metropolis: TVPG
View Complete TV Schedule
Rebels:
Wednesday, Feb 15, 10/9c
Westward:
Wednesday, Feb 15, 12/11c
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