The Empire Builder: James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway

At age 17, James J. Hill leaves Canada and settles in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1856. Over the next 20 years, he immerses himself in the Mississippi River trade, starts several businesses and convinces his associates to make a play for a bankrupt railroad.

Hill takes the biggest gamble of his career. He decides to build West, despite transcontinentals to the north and south. To get there, he must cross 2 mountain ranges, lay hundreds of miles of track and convince Congress to build through Indian territory.

Hill faces a railroad strike and union president Eugene Debs. With JP Morgan, he adds the Northern Pacific to his empire. Fight for its control sends Wall Street into a financial tailspin. A young President Theodore Roosevelt seeks to curtail Hill's power.

Hill opens trade with Asia, turning Seattle into a major port city. Immigrants settle in MT and ND. Hill faces Harriman in Last Great Railroad War. Louis Hill develops Glacier National Park. Hill speaks of environment & lobbies for war loans to allies.