0:00:02 > 0:00:08I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America,
0:00:08 > 0:00:09with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:17Published in 1879, my Appletons' General Guide will steer me
0:00:17 > 0:00:20to everything that's novel,
0:00:20 > 0:00:22beautiful,
0:00:22 > 0:00:23memorable,
0:00:23 > 0:00:24or curious
0:00:24 > 0:00:26in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27Amen.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33As I cross the continent, I'll discover America's gilded age,
0:00:33 > 0:00:37when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom that tied
0:00:37 > 0:00:43the nation together and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I'm continuing my journey south.
0:01:14 > 0:01:19Indeed, I shall be crossing the Mason-Dixon Line, the boundary
0:01:19 > 0:01:22between Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, which,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26after Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1781,
0:01:26 > 0:01:32also became the frontier between the slave states and the free states.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35This will be my opportunity to reflect on the divisions
0:01:35 > 0:01:39between north and south that untied the United Sates,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43and on the legacy that they've left to America today.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52On this journey I began in the cradle of independence,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Philadelphia,
0:01:54 > 0:01:59and continued through the American Civil War battlefield of Gettysburg.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02I'm turning south to Baltimore, in Maryland,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06before taking in the nation's capital of Washington DC.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10I'll then continue to Richmond, Virginia, finishing in Jamestown,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14the first permanent English settlement in North America.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Today, starting in Wilmington, I head to Newark on the historical
0:02:19 > 0:02:22boundary between the northern and southern states.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Crossing into Maryland, I visit Havre de Grace.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29'I explore Baltimore,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33beginning with the first passenger railroad in the United States.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37I take in the city's most famous institution
0:02:37 > 0:02:42and drive the gritty streets of East Baltimore.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45I'll end at the spot where the American national anthem was born.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50'Along the way, I ride a giant of the railroads.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:52HOOTER BLOWS
0:02:52 > 0:02:55The drama of an American locomotive bears no comparison with
0:02:55 > 0:02:58anything in Europe.
0:02:58 > 0:03:01'Discover the explosive origins of an American powerhouse.'
0:03:01 > 0:03:02POP!
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Whoa!
0:03:04 > 0:03:06What a magnificent noise.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10I'll find out about life on the wrong side of the tracks...
0:03:10 > 0:03:15I'd been to close to 200 funerals by the time I graduated high school.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19..and sink my claws into a local delicacy.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21Can you give me any idea what's in that sauce?
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Absolutely not. That's a secret recipe.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24SHE LAUGHS
0:03:40 > 0:03:42I've crossed from the state of Pennsylvania
0:03:42 > 0:03:44into the state of Delaware,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and my first stop is the city of Wilmington.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52On the site of an early Swedish colony,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55it came under British rule in 1664, and takes its name
0:03:55 > 0:04:01from the Earl of Wilmington, a favourite of King George II.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12My guidebook tells me
0:04:12 > 0:04:15that Wilmington is the chief city of the state of Delaware,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19"regularly laid out, with streets at right angles,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22"the principle ones being paved with stone.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25"The buildings are uniformly of brick."
0:04:25 > 0:04:28It's on the main railway line between Washington
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and New York City, but most of us just pass it by, and I've been
0:04:32 > 0:04:37surprised to discover that it is a major industrial city,
0:04:37 > 0:04:39on America's mighty East Coast.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45Wilmington has long been an important
0:04:45 > 0:04:47port on the Delaware River.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50And when the railroads came here in 1837,
0:04:50 > 0:04:53it became a hub for East Coast trade.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55HOOTER BLARES
0:04:58 > 0:05:02During the 19th century, a number of private railroads were built.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05I'm off to visit one that still runs today,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the Wilmington & Western Railroad.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17When I swap my colourful jackets for my dirty overalls it's
0:05:17 > 0:05:21a pretty good sign that I'm going to ride on a heritage railway!
0:05:25 > 0:05:26Hello.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Hello, my name is Phoebe Snow.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33How do you do? You are the most beautiful vision in white.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- Oh, thank you! - Tell me your story, Phoebe Snow.
0:05:36 > 0:05:41From 1900 to 1917, I rode the railroad,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46advertising clean burning anthracite coal, telling people that
0:05:46 > 0:05:50Phoebe says and Phoebe knows that soot and cinders spoil good clothes.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53So she keeps her dress bright and white
0:05:53 > 0:05:56by riding the road of anthracite.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- Like that?- Love it!- There are many more where that one came from.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07The fictional character of Phoebe Snow was used to advertise
0:06:07 > 0:06:11the railroad's latest modern features, from clean burning coal
0:06:11 > 0:06:15to electric lighting, and dining cars to restrooms.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18That was an innovative period for the railroad.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23It was just growing and growing, tying this country together.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29It made us what we are and we come back to it today in hopes of
0:06:29 > 0:06:35reminding people of what it meant to our history and where we came from.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Phoebe, it's been so delightful to meet a good,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42- clean Delaware girl like you. - Indeed!
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Nice to meet you as well, sir.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47If you'll excuse me, I have to get about my business.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55- How are you? Hello.- Hi.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03- Hello, you must be Tommy. - Hello, good to meet you. Yes.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07- I'm Michael. Hello, Michael. - Hello, John.- John, good to see you.
0:07:07 > 0:07:08So, what a wonderful railway.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10How long does it been a heritage railway?
0:07:10 > 0:07:16- Since 1966. 2016 is our 50th season. - Congratulations.
0:07:16 > 0:07:17Thank you very much.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24'Conductor to 114. You are clear to proceed west.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27114, clear to go west, here we go.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30If you'd like to do the honours, sir.
0:07:30 > 0:07:31Two long.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33HOOTER BLASTS
0:07:34 > 0:07:36HOOTER BLASTS
0:07:37 > 0:07:38And the bell.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39BELL RINGS
0:07:41 > 0:07:45I love that, don't you love American locomotives with
0:07:45 > 0:07:48their great big, long horns and their bells?
0:07:48 > 0:07:49Off we go!
0:07:49 > 0:07:51HOOTER BLASTS
0:08:18 > 0:08:21The drama of an American locomotive bears no comparison with
0:08:21 > 0:08:23anything in Europe.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25HOOTER BLASTS
0:08:30 > 0:08:32Tommy, what was this railway originally?
0:08:32 > 0:08:36It was originally built as the Wilmington & Western Railroad,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and the line opened in 1872.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41By the 1880s, it had failed
0:08:41 > 0:08:45and was purchased by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48When it was the Baltimore & Ohio, what was it doing,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49freight and passengers?
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Yes, this served the Red Clay Valley
0:08:53 > 0:08:56for freight, passengers and US Mail.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00And believe it or not, this little valley was just teeming with
0:09:00 > 0:09:05industry and farms and people and all kinds of mills.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10During the 1920s, demand for rail services on this branch line fell,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12and in the 1950s, closure loomed.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16A group of volunteers began to lease the tracks at weekends,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19and now own and run a section of the railroad.
0:09:19 > 0:09:24- How long have you been associated with it?- Since 1981.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26- That's a good long time. - It's a long time.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Do you think the American public is as engaged with railways as,
0:09:30 > 0:09:32say, the British public?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I think maybe the British public is a little more engaged.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39It's more of a train culture over there, where we have
0:09:39 > 0:09:40a bit of a car culture here.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48The line takes tourists on a 20-mile round trip,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52along and across the Red Clay Creek, giving them a taste of
0:09:52 > 0:09:54the heyday of the railroads
0:09:54 > 0:09:57before they were eclipsed by the automobile.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00And thousands come each year to experience it.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Excuse me.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07Ah.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10Do you mind me asking why you've taken the train ride today?
0:10:10 > 0:10:13The reason I've taken the train today is because my husband's dream
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- to ride a train for the first time. - How have you found it today?
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- How do I like this?- Yeah. - I love it. I'm excited.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It's the first time I've ever been on a train.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- How old are you, sir, may I ask, roughly?- 52. 52.
0:10:27 > 0:10:3052 years without being on a train.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34I always wanted to, but this is the first time. I love it.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44Looks like my stop. Bye!
0:10:59 > 0:11:02The old mills of Red Clay Creek are long gone,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05and I'm keen to know more about America's 19th-century
0:11:05 > 0:11:09economic boom and the part that the railroads played in it.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Led by my guidebook,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I'm heading to the countryside north of Wilmington city.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Appletons' tells me that,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26"Wilmington's manufactures embrace shipbuilding, cotton
0:11:26 > 0:11:30"and wool, flour mills, shoe and leather factories,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32"and powder mills."
0:11:32 > 0:11:34Here on the outskirts of the city,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37on the banks of the Brandywine River,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40it's time to discover the city's explosive past.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48In my hunt for this industrial heritage,
0:11:48 > 0:11:50I've come across a most unusual sight.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58I had not expected to find a chateau in the Delaware countryside.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02You may not be surprised to know that this belonged to a Frenchman,
0:12:02 > 0:12:06the magnificently named Eleuthere Irenee du Pont,
0:12:06 > 0:12:10who had been imprisoned during the French Revolution
0:12:10 > 0:12:15and arrived in the United States as a political refugee in 1799.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19He established a company which has gone down in history as DuPont,
0:12:19 > 0:12:22and made an enormous contribution to the United States,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and in particular to its military.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Du Pont founded a gunpowder mill here in 1802, at a time
0:12:32 > 0:12:36when this burgeoning nation had a great need of explosives,
0:12:36 > 0:12:39first for construction and later for the battlefield.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45Still based in Wilmington, DuPont today is one of the biggest
0:12:45 > 0:12:48chemical companies in the world.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51I'm meeting archivist Lucas Clawson to find out
0:12:51 > 0:12:53about its 19th-century beginnings.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56- Hello, Lucas.- Hello.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59Lucas, I'm in ecstasy, a beautiful river valley
0:12:59 > 0:13:01and a railway line running through it.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04What was it that made Monsieur du Pont go into gunpowder?
0:13:04 > 0:13:07He had a lot of experience in gunpowder, actually.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11He learnt chemistry from Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier in France,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14who ran the French national black powder manufactory at Essone.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18What brought him out here to this quite remote spot?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20First of all, water power.
0:13:20 > 0:13:22You know, there's a lot of drop in the Brandywine River,
0:13:22 > 0:13:25so it's the perfect place to power your machinery with water.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27And secondly, it's remote - in case there's an explosion,
0:13:27 > 0:13:30there's no worries about blowing anyone up.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38'At one time, this was one of the largest industrial sites
0:13:38 > 0:13:42'in the eastern United States.'
0:13:42 > 0:13:44So, you told me it was water power.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46How does it work?
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Well, the first thing you have to do is start the water.
0:13:48 > 0:13:52The apparatus here before us is called the sluice gate.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56What I'll have to do...is turn this handle...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02..which opens up the cover to a pipe...
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It takes a few seconds. There's a large pipe that goes underground.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Once it fills up with water you can hear the turbines start.
0:14:11 > 0:14:12You certainly can.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Shall we go and have a look at what you've caused to happen down there?
0:14:15 > 0:14:17Yes, absolutely.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26'Gunpowder was made from charcoal, potassium nitrate and sulphur,
0:14:26 > 0:14:28'which needed to be mixed together in water.'
0:14:30 > 0:14:34Lucas, that is the most unexpected and magnificent sight,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38these enormous rollers powered by water.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42- And they were grinding up the powder, were they?- Yes, exactly.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45What sort of precautions could they take to minimise
0:14:45 > 0:14:46the danger of accidents?
0:14:46 > 0:14:50The main thing to do was to not have people inside the buildings
0:14:50 > 0:14:52while these were operating.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Also, workers were supposed to have shoes that didn't have any
0:14:56 > 0:14:57type of metal in the soles.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59And also, as you walk through the powder yards,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01there's a narrow-gauge metal railway,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04but as the tracks go in front of each building they turn to wood.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07That way there's no chance that the wheels on the cars will make a spark.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10So the United States has a Civil War,
0:15:10 > 0:15:14and we're very near the dividing point of North and South.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16Du Pont was with which side?
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Henry du Pont, who ran the factory at that period,
0:15:19 > 0:15:20was an adamant Unionist.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Whenever southern states seceded, he cut them off completely.
0:15:24 > 0:15:28So how important was his powder to the Union's success, do you think?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The DuPont factory produced 40% of all powder used by all
0:15:31 > 0:15:33the United States Armed Forces.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36They produced over a million pounds of black powder a year
0:15:36 > 0:15:38from 1862 to the end of the war.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42And what made DuPont's gunpowder dominate the market was
0:15:42 > 0:15:44the high quality of the product.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- Michael, I want to introduce you to Angelica.- Hello.- Hello.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51She will show you this historical piece of machinery called
0:15:51 > 0:15:53an eprouvette.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55That's the French word for a gunpowder tester.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57So what do you have to do?
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Well, I have loaded this chamber with about a gram of powder.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03I close the lid.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Once I light the fuse, we'll hopefully have a small
0:16:06 > 0:16:08explosion which will make the wheel turn.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12The wheel has numbers on it, so the further the wheel turns,
0:16:12 > 0:16:13the higher the number,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16the bigger the explosion, the better the powder.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19- Ooh. Do you mind if I light the fuse?- Please, go ahead.
0:16:24 > 0:16:25FUSE FIZZES
0:16:31 > 0:16:33POP!
0:16:33 > 0:16:34Whoa!
0:16:34 > 0:16:37What a magnificent noise!
0:16:37 > 0:16:39So, it sent it back a long way.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Yeah, we have some pretty good powder.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43It went almost all the way round.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Angelica, that was fantastic.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46I go out with a bang.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03It's the morning of a new day, and I'm leaving Wilmington
0:17:03 > 0:17:07to continue my journey towards the southern sates.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Delaware is bordered to its north by Pennsylvania
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and to its west by Maryland,
0:17:12 > 0:17:16and I'm travelling towards the point where all three states meet.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24I'm headed for Newark, Delaware, which Appletons' tells me
0:17:24 > 0:17:27is the seat of several excellent educational institutions.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30I'll be going to the University of Delaware.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34"And four miles beyond, the train crosses the celebrated
0:17:34 > 0:17:38"Mason and Dixon's Line, the boundary between the northern
0:17:38 > 0:17:41"and southern states as it enters Maryland."
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Now, I know something about that demarcation but nothing
0:17:45 > 0:17:49of its history, and it's time to draw a line under my ignorance.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59Newark is relatively small, with a population of just 30,000,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and students make up more than half of that number.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07The University of Delaware is one of the oldest in the Unites States,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and with the Mason-Dixon Line running by it,
0:18:10 > 0:18:14I want to find out what its students know of this historical boundary.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21May I ask you what you think is
0:18:21 > 0:18:24the significance of the Mason-Dixon Line?
0:18:25 > 0:18:28- Isn't is the divider between... - The North and the South.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30..North and the South.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Historically, it was the clear delineation between the North
0:18:34 > 0:18:37and the South, and since then cultures have kind of
0:18:37 > 0:18:41built a reputation off what is defined as the North and the South.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45- What are those cultural differences? - They're more conservative.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49A lot more conservative. And up north, they're a lot more liberal.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52The big thing that hits me is the music.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55North of the Mason-Dixon Line, it's a lot of hip-hop,
0:18:55 > 0:18:57a lot of rock and roll.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01Once you go more south, it's blues, country.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05Would you feel when you cross from Delaware or from Pennsylvania
0:19:05 > 0:19:07into Maryland that you've reached the South?
0:19:07 > 0:19:08I feel you wouldn't.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12When I think of the South, I think of more like Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Maybe Virginia, but definitely not Maryland.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18- When would you think you'd reached the South?- West Virginia.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19Virginia.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25- Hm-mm. Not Delaware?- No.- Not Maryland?- No.- Parts of Maryland.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Cecil County, maybe.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30But mostly Virginia and West Virginia.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The Mason-Dixon Line may today be outdated as a dividing line
0:19:36 > 0:19:38between two ways of life,
0:19:38 > 0:19:43but for nearly 100 years it was the boundary between the southern
0:19:43 > 0:19:47slave states and the non-slave states of the North.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Its origins, however, have nothing to do with ideology.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57I'm meeting geologist Sandy Schenck of the Delaware Geological Survey.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Sandy, why is it necessary to draw a line, and when?
0:20:03 > 0:20:08Well, in the 1760s, there was a dispute between Lord Calvert
0:20:08 > 0:20:12of the Maryland colony and William Penn of Pennsylvania
0:20:12 > 0:20:16over exactly where the boundary between those two colonies went.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18And so how was that to be settled?
0:20:18 > 0:20:21In England there were two astronomers that worked for the
0:20:21 > 0:20:27National Observatory and they were Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon.
0:20:27 > 0:20:32And they were hired by the courts in England to come to the colonies
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and divide this peninsula in half.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38And then go west and divide Maryland
0:20:38 > 0:20:43and Pennsylvania at the northern boundary up here.
0:20:43 > 0:20:44Mason and Dixon surveyed,
0:20:44 > 0:20:49and in 1768 settled the boundary between Maryland
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and Pennsylvania, leaving what later became
0:20:52 > 0:20:54the state of Delaware as part of Pennsylvania.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57It seems to me that when Pennsylvania abolishes
0:20:57 > 0:21:01slavery in 1781, the Mason-Dixon Line assumes a new significance.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Would that be right?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Probably at that time it did divide what people thought of the North
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and the South.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Even though Maryland was a slave state, it never joined
0:21:11 > 0:21:13the Confederacy
0:21:13 > 0:21:15but slaves, certainly,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19escaping from Confederate states, heading north for safety,
0:21:19 > 0:21:20would consider
0:21:20 > 0:21:24crossing the Mason-Dixon Line as a sign
0:21:24 > 0:21:26of being safe finally, they're in the North.
0:21:28 > 0:21:31Less than 20 years after the land dispute,
0:21:31 > 0:21:36this became a line that would split the nation for almost 100 years.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38And for black Americans,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41life on either side would be dramatically different.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47I'm continuing my journey across the line
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and heading to the southern states, beginning in Maryland.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57The train is crossing the Susquehanna River,
0:21:57 > 0:22:01the greatest river of the eastern United States.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13At 444 miles,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17the Susquehanna is the longest river on the East Coast, running
0:22:17 > 0:22:21through New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland, before it
0:22:21 > 0:22:25pours into Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in North America.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30I'm alighting at Aberdeen, and making my way to the pretty
0:22:30 > 0:22:34city of Havre de Grace, where the river meets the bay.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50Appletons' tells me that, "at Havre de Grace in Maryland,
0:22:50 > 0:22:56"the Susquehanna River is crossed on a lofty wooden bridge a mile long."
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Well, that has been replaced by a newer structure,
0:23:00 > 0:23:04but it's still the case that every train between New York City
0:23:04 > 0:23:10and Washington DC must cross the mighty Susquehanna at this point.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16When the railroads arrived in 1837,
0:23:16 > 0:23:19their tracks ended at each bank of the river
0:23:19 > 0:23:23and for 29 years a ferry service connected the two
0:23:23 > 0:23:26until the Susquehanna was finally spanned by a bridge.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30The landscape has been both asset and obstacle
0:23:30 > 0:23:34since the first British colonists arrived, more than 400 years ago.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39'I'm meeting Joel Dunn, from the Chesapeake Conservancy.'
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Well, here we are, on the very beautiful
0:23:42 > 0:23:47banks of the Susquehanna River. Who was responsible for exploring it?
0:23:47 > 0:23:51In modern-day history, it sort of started in 1608,
0:23:51 > 0:23:55when Captain John Smith came as part of a venture capital company
0:23:55 > 0:23:59from Britain to North America to explore the Chesapeake Bay.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Captain John Smith was one of the first English settlers,
0:24:04 > 0:24:09and played a pivotal role in the colonisation of America.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11Working for the Virginia Company,
0:24:11 > 0:24:16he explored and charted this unknown territory, producing journals
0:24:16 > 0:24:21and maps that were to be relied upon by settlers for decades to come.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24But these so-called new lands were actually home
0:24:24 > 0:24:28to 75,000 Native Americans.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31This is the map he made when he came here.
0:24:31 > 0:24:35Notice the exquisite detail of each river that he drew with
0:24:35 > 0:24:38a compass and a pen when he explored the Chesapeake Bay.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41We're right here, on the Susquehanna River.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45And this is one of the Susquehannock Indians that John Smith met
0:24:45 > 0:24:46when he first came here.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50What sort of a relationship did he have with the Native Americans?
0:24:50 > 0:24:54Smith had a mixed relationship depending on which tribe,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57but for the most part it was fairly peaceful.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59John Smith knew that he depended upon the Native Americans
0:24:59 > 0:25:01because they knew where the food was,
0:25:01 > 0:25:06they knew where the best places to live and find fresh water...
0:25:06 > 0:25:10John Smith depended upon their information to create
0:25:10 > 0:25:12much of this map.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14It wasn't simply about map making.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19Like all early European settlers, their first job was to survive.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23The first permanent English settlement in North America,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27they were based at Jamestown, and they were starving.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29So Smith was out looking for food,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32looking for cultures to trade with, to learn information on how
0:25:32 > 0:25:36to survive here in North America, in the Chesapeake Bay.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39Can you imagine coming to this river for the first time
0:25:39 > 0:25:43without any power and electricity, no Google Maps, no phones,
0:25:43 > 0:25:45not knowing what you'd encounter?
0:25:45 > 0:25:48He was a really extraordinary individual.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Hey, Garret.
0:25:53 > 0:25:58'I'm taking to the water for a feel of what John Smith would have
0:25:58 > 0:26:02'experienced and to take a closer look at the wildlife of the region.'
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Garret, what sort of wildlife will we see on the Susquehanna?
0:26:19 > 0:26:23We'll see plenty of bald eagles, ducks, hawks of all kinds.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Lots of migratory birds come through here on their way from Canada
0:26:26 > 0:26:28down to parts of the southern US.
0:26:41 > 0:26:43Look, there's deer swimming in the river.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51In a few moments we've seen bald eagles,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54we've seen great blue herons, we've seen ducks,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58and we've seen four young deer bathing in the river.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01This is just a paradise of nature.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08What you've seen is a touch of wildness, you know, the wildness
0:27:08 > 0:27:11this place used to have, the wildness that this place still has.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14We protect those special places for future generations
0:27:14 > 0:27:18and we celebrate the Chesapeake as a national treasure.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32This part of the United States bears the imprint of talented Englishmen.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon established a boundary that
0:27:36 > 0:27:39endures to this day.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Not long after Captain John Smith explored this region,
0:27:43 > 0:27:48the English colony of Virginia imported black slaves from Africa,
0:27:48 > 0:27:52beginning a system that has haunted the United States
0:27:52 > 0:27:56throughout its existence and gave a significance to the line
0:27:56 > 0:28:02between North and South that Mason and Dixon could never have foreseen.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27Today I'll explore Baltimore via the city's rail networks,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31starting with the first passenger railroad in the United States
0:28:31 > 0:28:35and crossing town to the city's most famous institution.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40After taking a drive through the gritty streets of East Baltimore
0:28:40 > 0:28:44I'll end at the spot where the American national anthem was born.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54My next stop will be Baltimore, which Appletons' tells me
0:28:54 > 0:28:56"is the chief city of Maryland
0:28:56 > 0:28:59"and one of the most important in the United States.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02"The present site of Baltimore was chosen in 1729,
0:29:02 > 0:29:06"and its name was given in honour of Lord Baltimore,
0:29:06 > 0:29:08"the proprietor of Maryland."
0:29:08 > 0:29:12Now, I didn't know that, and the state of Maryland was named
0:29:12 > 0:29:14after the wife of King Charles I,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16so, one way and another,
0:29:16 > 0:29:21British aristocracy and royalty have left an important mark
0:29:21 > 0:29:23on the world's greatest republic.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32I'm arriving in this city on an Amtrak service -
0:29:32 > 0:29:35America's principle passenger rail operator -
0:29:35 > 0:29:40which, in the 1970s, inherited a network spanning the entire country.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43That network owes much to the city of Baltimore,
0:29:43 > 0:29:46the birthplace of the passenger railroad.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57Baltimore Penn Station really is a treat for the weary traveller,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00with these superb glass domes in its ceiling.
0:30:00 > 0:30:05It was built more than a century ago and decorated with Tiffany glass.
0:30:05 > 0:30:06Fantastic!
0:30:11 > 0:30:16Baltimore's fortunes have for ever been tied to its location,
0:30:16 > 0:30:20sitting on a deep natural harbour of Chesapeake Bay
0:30:20 > 0:30:22which leads into the Atlantic Ocean.
0:30:23 > 0:30:26In the early 19th century, the city grew to be
0:30:26 > 0:30:30one of the largest seaports on the eastern seaboard,
0:30:30 > 0:30:34and when the railroad linked to Baltimore to the expanding Midwest,
0:30:34 > 0:30:38it multiplied as a centre of industry and commerce.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41For 20 years, in the mid-19th century,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44it was the second-largest city in North America.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56My guidebook tells me that,
0:30:56 > 0:31:00"Two lines of European steamers now start from Baltimore's harbour,
0:31:00 > 0:31:03"and through her, two great arteries of traffic -
0:31:03 > 0:31:07"the Baltimore and Ohio and the Northern Central Railroads.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10"The city is successfully competing for the trade
0:31:10 > 0:31:13"of the north and north-west."
0:31:13 > 0:31:15As the United States expanded to the west,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19some statesmen feared that the country was becoming too big
0:31:19 > 0:31:21and would fall apart,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24but the railroads seemed to offer the solution.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33As settlers spread westward, connections with those
0:31:33 > 0:31:37remote territories became increasingly important.
0:31:37 > 0:31:40One railroad originating in Baltimore rose to the challenge.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45I've arranged a meeting with David Shackelford,
0:31:45 > 0:31:50chief curator of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.
0:31:52 > 0:31:53- Dave, hello.- How are you?
0:31:53 > 0:31:55We meet in a spectacular roundhouse.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57I mean, I assume it's an old turntable,
0:31:57 > 0:31:59but built on the grand scale.
0:31:59 > 0:32:01Oh, grand scale, indeed.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04I mean, this is truly a crown jewel in Baltimore's railroad history,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07and this particular roundhouse was built in 1884
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and was designed as a passenger-car roundhouse.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14Now, what was the origin of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad?
0:32:14 > 0:32:16The origin dates back to the 1820s
0:32:16 > 0:32:19and it's a pretty significant period in Baltimore's history
0:32:19 > 0:32:21because it's a rival seaport,
0:32:21 > 0:32:25so it's battling against New York, Boston, Charlestown, Philadelphia,
0:32:25 > 0:32:27and basically it's all about commerce -
0:32:27 > 0:32:30moving things from the interior of the United States
0:32:30 > 0:32:31to the port and then out.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34So they had known of this thing called a "railroad" in England,
0:32:34 > 0:32:36and they decided to basically do the next best thing
0:32:36 > 0:32:39to invent it yourself is steal that,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42bring it to the United States and basically build their own railroad.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45So the Baltimore and Ohio is actually charted in the 1820s,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48before the Liverpool to Manchester Railway is opened,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50which is reckoned to be the first intercity railway,
0:32:50 > 0:32:53but I take it that it's not open before that point.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Construction begins July 4, 1828,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59and it would actually begin service in 1830,
0:32:59 > 0:33:02so, at that point, it's kind of interesting,
0:33:02 > 0:33:05because there's only 23 miles of rail in the entire country,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07and 13 miles would run from Baltimore to
0:33:07 > 0:33:09a little town named Ellicott's Mills, Maryland,
0:33:09 > 0:33:11so, in the grand scheme,
0:33:11 > 0:33:1423 miles would grow to hundreds of thousands of miles.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19With 3 million from investors,
0:33:19 > 0:33:23the B&O Railroad expanded gradually at first,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27but, by the time of my guidebook, it had spread across the Midwest,
0:33:27 > 0:33:30all the way to the Mississippi River.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34The first commercial rail route, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
0:33:34 > 0:33:38laid the foundations for what was to become, in the 19th century,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41America's most important industry.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Sadly, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad does not exist today.
0:33:45 > 0:33:46What happened?
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Very similar to what happened to a lot of railroads
0:33:49 > 0:33:51in the late 1950s, '60s and '70s,
0:33:51 > 0:33:52and for a variety of reasons,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56which include a late transition from steam engine to diesel.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59There was overregulation from the government
0:33:59 > 0:34:02and basically it's the increase in the trucking and airline industry
0:34:02 > 0:34:05that really take a major bite out of freight.
0:34:05 > 0:34:07TRAIN WHISTLES
0:34:07 > 0:34:09Could I see some of the highlights of your collection?
0:34:09 > 0:34:11- I'd love to show you around. - Thank you.
0:34:13 > 0:34:18The first railways used wooden tracks and horse-drawn carts.
0:34:18 > 0:34:20When steam engines replaced horses,
0:34:20 > 0:34:25passenger carriages still drew on stagecoach design.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad originally imported its locomotives
0:34:29 > 0:34:34from Great Britain, until Peter Cooper designed and built
0:34:34 > 0:34:38America's first steam locomotive, the Tom Thumb.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40It's one of the many engines at the museum.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47So, this is an extraordinarily early locomotive. When does that date to?
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Yeah, this locomotive dates back to the earliest days of the B&O - 1832.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55And that's, you know, contemporary with Stephenson's Rocket.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57This looks nothing like it.
0:34:57 > 0:34:58And that was intentional.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01The problem with the B&O track was it had sharp curves
0:35:01 > 0:35:02and steep grades,
0:35:02 > 0:35:05and so they decided initially to use horses,
0:35:05 > 0:35:08and then eventually they would come up with these shorter,
0:35:08 > 0:35:10narrower and squatter engine designs,
0:35:10 > 0:35:14but from that would grow the modern American steam engine.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16And, just judging by sight,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20it looks like the track gauge is the same as Britain - 4'8½.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23Yes, it is, and that was one of the technology transfers or "thefts"
0:35:23 > 0:35:25that we like to refer to, is that when they came back,
0:35:25 > 0:35:30they decided pretty early on to maintain that 4'8½ gauge.
0:35:30 > 0:35:32We're cousins, after all.
0:35:34 > 0:35:39The Baltimore Railroad depot was the scene of yet another landmark achievement
0:35:39 > 0:35:45in 1844, when the first official telegraph message was received here.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46TELEGRAPH CLICKS
0:35:55 > 0:35:57- I'm sorry to interrupt you. - Yeah, that's fine.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59- My name's Michael.- Jim.
0:35:59 > 0:36:00Hello, Michael.
0:36:00 > 0:36:02Hi, Hubert George.
0:36:02 > 0:36:03Very good to see you, Hubert.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07You're using some very historic telegraphy equipment here.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10And the origins of the telegraph are linked, are they not,
0:36:10 > 0:36:12with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad?
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Yes, the first practical demonstration, public demonstration
0:36:15 > 0:36:17of telegraphy occurred here in Baltimore
0:36:17 > 0:36:20at the Baltimore Ohio Railway Depot
0:36:20 > 0:36:24so this is really a central location for the origins of telegraphy
0:36:24 > 0:36:26in the United States.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29Morse was the inventor of telegraphy, was he?
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Morse is often called the inventor of telegraphy.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35He developed a practical and very simple electromagnetic
0:36:35 > 0:36:37telegraph system.
0:36:37 > 0:36:41But he wasn't the sole inventor, but he was very good
0:36:41 > 0:36:44at publicity and self-promotion.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46Did he invent the code, the Morse code?
0:36:46 > 0:36:50No, he didn't. That was primarily Alfred Vail, his assistant,
0:36:50 > 0:36:52who was responsible for the code.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58Alfred Vail took down the message sent by his employer Samuel Morse
0:36:58 > 0:37:01from the US capital in Washington.
0:37:01 > 0:37:04Each set of dots and dashes corresponded to
0:37:04 > 0:37:07a letter of the English alphabet.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12The code was transmitted using electrical signals over a wire.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Telegraphs and railways are natural bedfellows.
0:37:16 > 0:37:19You can run the wires alongside the tracks - is that right?
0:37:19 > 0:37:20That's correct. First of all,
0:37:20 > 0:37:24the railways provided a ready right of way for telegraph bonds.
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Additionally, in order to run a railroad safely,
0:37:27 > 0:37:29you have to standardise time.
0:37:29 > 0:37:34You can't have time being different at different locations along the right of way
0:37:34 > 0:37:37and additionally, if you want to control train movements
0:37:37 > 0:37:39over a broad territory in an efficient manner,
0:37:39 > 0:37:42you have to have some form of instantaneous communications.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45So to truly run a practical and efficient railway
0:37:45 > 0:37:47you had to have the telegraph.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Hubert, I wonder if you would demonstrate to me
0:37:50 > 0:37:53how this machinery works maybe by sending Jim a message.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55All right, I'll send you a...
0:37:55 > 0:37:58We're going to send the original message that
0:37:58 > 0:38:05Mr Morse sent to Mr Vail on May 24th, 1864.
0:38:05 > 0:38:06This is it.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24"What hath God wrought" - that was the original message?
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- That is correct. - Presumably a biblical citation.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29That's correct.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33Hubert, how many years were you in telegraphy?
0:38:33 > 0:38:37I learned code when I was 13 years old from my grandfather.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40And I started to work as a telegraph operator
0:38:40 > 0:38:42when I was 17 years old.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46May I ask which years you were working for the railway?
0:38:46 > 0:38:501941 till 1965.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55And I was promoted into a supervisor.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I'm a third generation Morse code writer.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02My grandaddy and my daddy were both experts.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05They could copy a message on a typewriter
0:39:05 > 0:39:07and be talking to you on any subject you wanted to
0:39:07 > 0:39:10and never miss a stroke.
0:39:10 > 0:39:13It doesn't seem like you've forgotten your Morse code.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17I haven't. I've gotten a little slower and rusty on it.
0:39:18 > 0:39:19Didn't seem rusty to me!
0:39:19 > 0:39:20HUBERT LAUGHS
0:39:23 > 0:39:27The telegraph revolutionised long-distance communication
0:39:27 > 0:39:30and laid the groundwork for the telephone, fax and internet
0:39:30 > 0:39:32on which we depend today.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39The rapid growth of the railroads created great wealth
0:39:39 > 0:39:43for investors and prosperity for the city of Baltimore.
0:39:46 > 0:39:51I'm hopping onto the single line of the Baltimore Metro System.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Originally built in the 1970s,
0:39:53 > 0:39:58it was later extended to a hugely important Baltimore institution -
0:39:58 > 0:40:03the Johns Hopkins Hospital, to which I'm headed.
0:40:10 > 0:40:11My guidebook tells me that,
0:40:11 > 0:40:15"the Johns Hopkins University was endowed with over 3 million
0:40:15 > 0:40:20"by Johns Hopkins, a wealthy citizen who died in 1873,
0:40:20 > 0:40:24"bequeathing an immense property to charitable purposes.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29"The Johns Hopkins Hospital was endowed with over 2 million."
0:40:29 > 0:40:31I'm on my way to the hospital
0:40:31 > 0:40:34to witness this philanthropy on a grand scale.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45During the later 19th century,
0:40:45 > 0:40:47new millionaires emerged,
0:40:47 > 0:40:51who made their names in retail, steel and the railroads,
0:40:51 > 0:40:55and many of them used their fortunes to benefit philanthropic causes.
0:40:59 > 0:41:01'I'm meeting Ronald Petersen,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04President of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.'
0:41:06 > 0:41:07Hello, Ron, I'm Michael.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09- Hello, Michael. How are you? - Very good to see you.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12- What a spectacular place to meet. - Yes, it is, indeed.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15I've been reading about the spectacular philanthropy
0:41:15 > 0:41:18of Johns Hopkins. Who was he?
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Well, he was a very interesting individual -
0:41:21 > 0:41:24a Quaker, merchant, banker, financier,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28who was an early investor in the B&O Railroad.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32In fact, he was on the board and amassed a great deal of stock.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35I think he was the largest stockholder,
0:41:35 > 0:41:39and he ended up giving away all of his wealth,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43some 7 million, in 1873.
0:41:43 > 0:41:46He endowed a university and a hospital -
0:41:46 > 0:41:48an interesting combination.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Well, he had this vision that,
0:41:50 > 0:41:55if it would be possible to collate a first-class university
0:41:55 > 0:41:57with a first-class hospital,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01then something special might be done for humankind.
0:42:02 > 0:42:07By 1893, both the university and hospital had been built.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11The founders hired four of the most impressive young physicians
0:42:11 > 0:42:16of the time, offering them rare and tempting research opportunities.
0:42:16 > 0:42:20Today, it's an internationally renowned institution,
0:42:20 > 0:42:25occupying 30 buildings and employing around 41,000 people,
0:42:25 > 0:42:29including 2,700 doctors.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31I'm meeting Dr Edward McCarthy,
0:42:31 > 0:42:35a Professor of Pathology and Orthopaedic Surgery.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40So, Ed, was there a Pathology department at the beginning,
0:42:40 > 0:42:44at the core of the hospital, as endowed by Johns Hopkins?
0:42:44 > 0:42:47Yes, the Pathology department was the original foundation
0:42:47 > 0:42:50of the hospital, founded by William Welch.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54The laboratory... His laboratory was the first building on this campus,
0:42:54 > 0:42:57and his mission was to get real strong science,
0:42:57 > 0:42:58real strong pathology,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01and medicine was built on top of that.
0:43:01 > 0:43:03And what is it that you pathologists do?
0:43:03 > 0:43:04You look at bones, you look at organs,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06you look at tissue - what are you doing?
0:43:06 > 0:43:12Well, the role of the pathologist is to, number one, make a diagnosis,
0:43:12 > 0:43:17and above all, we are the teachers of other doctors,
0:43:17 > 0:43:19informing them what their patient has,
0:43:19 > 0:43:20what they should do about it
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and what the prognosis of that particular disease is.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25Would it be possible to have a look at what you're up to?
0:43:25 > 0:43:26- Sure. Good.- Thank you.
0:43:29 > 0:43:35In their 123-year history, the Johns Hopkins institutions
0:43:35 > 0:43:39have made some of the most far-reaching advances in medicine.
0:43:39 > 0:43:44They were the first in America to develop kidney dialysis and CPR,
0:43:44 > 0:43:47the first to introduce rubber gloves during surgery,
0:43:47 > 0:43:50and the first to admit female students.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54So, Michael, this is Dr Armin Kharrazian.
0:43:54 > 0:43:55He is a pathology resident...
0:43:55 > 0:43:57- How do you do?- Nice to meet you. How are you?
0:43:57 > 0:44:01..and he's looking at a thyroid gland right here.
0:44:01 > 0:44:02That is a thyroid gland?
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Yeah, so we have a thyroid gland. It was taken out yesterday.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07I'll continue measuring the thyroid
0:44:07 > 0:44:09and then after that they'll get processed in our lab
0:44:09 > 0:44:11and we'll look under the microscope,
0:44:11 > 0:44:13for any cancer or any other sort of disease in it.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14As you look at that from the exterior,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16is there anything self-evidently wrong with it?
0:44:16 > 0:44:18Yeah, so, this one actually looks pretty good.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21You can't really tell until we look under the microscope,
0:44:21 > 0:44:25but it's probably a benign or a noncancerous process
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- going on in there.- But, nonetheless, the thyroid had to come out.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29It had to come out. Yeah, exactly.
0:44:29 > 0:44:32And every time you do that, you're learning more and more.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35- Of course.- Armin, thank you so much. - Thank you.- Great to talk to you.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41Health care is today the largest employer in Baltimore,
0:44:41 > 0:44:46where the Johns Hopkins institutions constitute a major industry.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02To end my day, I'm visiting another Baltimore landmark.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04Established in 1782,
0:45:04 > 0:45:08Lexington Market is one of the oldest in the country.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10I'm tempted by the local cuisine.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19I've arranged a cooking lesson with Demi
0:45:19 > 0:45:21at Faidley's Seafood,
0:45:21 > 0:45:23a family business founded in 1886,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26where they make an award-winning crab cake.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31What makes crab cakes special in Baltimore?
0:45:31 > 0:45:34- Oh, our crab meat.- Yeah.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37- The Maryland crab, it's the best crab in the world.- Why?
0:45:37 > 0:45:43Because of the Chesapeake Bay, the brackish water, they are very sweet.
0:45:43 > 0:45:46They're called "blue", are they? Are they actually blue in any way?
0:45:46 > 0:45:50Yes, they are. When they're live, they are a blue crab.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52This one happens to be soft,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54if it was a hard crab, he'd be biting me,
0:45:54 > 0:45:56and so that's the colour,
0:45:56 > 0:46:00- and then, when they're cooked, they turn orange.- Wow.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03OK, and so, you can eat them out of the shell
0:46:03 > 0:46:07or this can of meat happens to be of Maryland crab meat,
0:46:07 > 0:46:09but it's only the swimmer fin.
0:46:09 > 0:46:11It's the biggest piece. It's the jumbo lump.
0:46:11 > 0:46:13- Yes.- It's absolutely wonderful.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15It's only from the swimmer fin,
0:46:15 > 0:46:18so it takes about 60 crabs to make a pound of crab meat.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Goodness. Demi, may I help you to make some crab cakes?
0:46:21 > 0:46:24Absolutely. We add just a few ingredients.
0:46:24 > 0:46:27We're going to start with this Maryland crab meat.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29We're going to sprinkle a little bit of oat-based seasoning
0:46:29 > 0:46:31over the top of the meat
0:46:31 > 0:46:35and then we're going to toss in some crushed premium saltines,
0:46:35 > 0:46:36and they're hand-crushed,
0:46:36 > 0:46:41and I don't mean small pieces, but fairly dime-sized pieces.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44'The crackers bind the crab cake together
0:46:44 > 0:46:48'by absorbing the final ingredient - the family's home-made sauce.'
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- Can you give me any idea what's in that sauce?- Absolutely not.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55That's a secret recipe.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01So, we fold this sauce with the cracker,
0:47:01 > 0:47:04and we're going to form it into a cake,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08and the large cake size was actually the size of my mother's hands.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10That's the perfect Maryland crab cake.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I would make one a different size, I guess, wouldn't I?
0:47:13 > 0:47:16- Yeah, yours are a little bit bigger. OK.- Let's have a go.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20- So you put the crab on the bottom of your hand like that.- Gently.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23- And gently pack it together. - And very gently pack it together.
0:47:23 > 0:47:27And you can see - feel how delicate it is in your hand. Good job.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30A little sloppy, but...
0:47:30 > 0:47:32I'll fix it for you.
0:47:32 > 0:47:34- Oh, well fixed. Look at that. - There you go.
0:47:34 > 0:47:35All fixed.
0:47:35 > 0:47:40'The crab cakes are then baked in the oven for just five minutes.'
0:47:40 > 0:47:42- Thank you.- That's perfect.- Wow.
0:47:46 > 0:47:50Oh, the taste of the crab and that hint of the sauce. Lovely.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54Beautiful, beautiful Maryland crab.
0:47:54 > 0:47:56That's... That's perfection.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11It's the second day of my stay in Baltimore.
0:48:11 > 0:48:14I want to get under the skin of the city.
0:48:14 > 0:48:18From the 17th until the 19th century, Maryland was a slave state,
0:48:18 > 0:48:21and its proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line
0:48:21 > 0:48:26attracted slaves on the run escaping to the free North.
0:48:26 > 0:48:31In 1870, five years after the end of the American Civil War,
0:48:31 > 0:48:37free African-Americans made up 17% of Baltimore's population.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41Today, the majority of the population of Baltimore is black,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and recently, the city has been blighted by riots
0:48:44 > 0:48:49and accusations against the police of racism and brutality.
0:48:49 > 0:48:51I wonder, what is the connection
0:48:51 > 0:48:54between the condition of the black community today
0:48:54 > 0:48:58and America's dark history of the Civil War and slavery?
0:49:02 > 0:49:05- D, hello. I'm Michael. - How are you doing, Mike?
0:49:05 > 0:49:06- D, nice to meet you. - Good to see you.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10- Are you going to take me for a ride? - Yeah, let's go.- Thank you.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13'D Watkins, a one-time drug dealer,
0:49:13 > 0:49:16'is now a university professor and writer.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19'He's going to show me the neighbourhood of East Baltimore
0:49:19 > 0:49:20'where he grew up.'
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Yeah, so this is my old block, right here - Castle Street.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40What was your neighbourhood like when you were a kid?
0:49:40 > 0:49:42I grew up in the height of the crack era.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44You almost had to develop an instinct to survive.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47I'd been to close to 200 funerals by the time...
0:49:47 > 0:49:49by the time I graduated high school.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51How did you start out in life?
0:49:51 > 0:49:53I started out on the streets.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56Erm, I was a good kid, a good student, things like that,
0:49:56 > 0:49:58then my older brother was murdered,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01and I followed in his footsteps and went onto the streets for a while,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04erm, selling drugs and things like that.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06When you were selling drugs,
0:50:06 > 0:50:08was that profitable and was it dangerous?
0:50:08 > 0:50:11Both. When you live in a place like Baltimore,
0:50:11 > 0:50:15where 97% of the people born in poverty die in poverty,
0:50:15 > 0:50:17everybody's looking for an escape.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21Some people escape by using it and some people escape by selling it.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24I was just fortunate enough to make some money
0:50:24 > 0:50:27and afford myself some opportunities.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29The problems you're telling me about,
0:50:29 > 0:50:31- are they confined to the black community?- Yes.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35Johns Hopkins University just completed a study that shows
0:50:35 > 0:50:40a poor black person with some college has less of a chance
0:50:40 > 0:50:46of getting a job than a poor white person who's done jail time,
0:50:46 > 0:50:48so the system is way lopsided.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50Give me an historical context.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53What is the connection between the condition of the black community
0:50:53 > 0:50:56of Baltimore today, and slavery?
0:50:56 > 0:50:58What's the connection?
0:50:58 > 0:51:02Well, you have a 270-some-year gap in education.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05You know, slaves couldn't go to school. Slaves couldn't read.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Slaves couldn't take part in the American dream.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10They wasn't even able to be in control of their own bodies,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14let alone be able to get an opportunity to...
0:51:14 > 0:51:17to create a life for themselves in this country.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21'After getting his first degree,
0:51:21 > 0:51:23'D went on to get a masters in teaching
0:51:23 > 0:51:26'from the Johns Hopkins School of Education.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29'Today, as an author and university professor,
0:51:29 > 0:51:33'he's using his experience to inspire the next generation.'
0:51:36 > 0:51:39I'm a writer. I work with young people. I train young journalists,
0:51:39 > 0:51:41and my focus is literacy, teaching people how to read
0:51:41 > 0:51:43and helping people become thinkers.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45I know another guy who does financial literacy.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48He teaches people what to do with their money.
0:51:48 > 0:51:49I know another guy who is into fitness.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52He has young kids running up and down the block, you know,
0:51:52 > 0:51:56making sure they're not, you know, injecting themselves with poison,
0:51:56 > 0:51:57and that they're healthy,
0:51:57 > 0:51:59so all of these different moving parts
0:51:59 > 0:52:01are needed to make real change,
0:52:01 > 0:52:03and figuring out ways where we can...we can...
0:52:03 > 0:52:05we can build with each other, support each other,
0:52:05 > 0:52:08share ideas and things like that, is what's needed.
0:52:18 > 0:52:22BELL RINGS Baltimore's Light Rail network
0:52:22 > 0:52:24runs along the city's streets
0:52:24 > 0:52:27towards my final destination, Fort McHenry.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36BELL RINGS
0:52:36 > 0:52:40Completed in 1803, the star-shaped fortification
0:52:40 > 0:52:44occupies a headland at the mouth of the inner harbour.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47Throughout the 19th century, it was the cornerstone of Baltimore's
0:52:47 > 0:52:50defences, and the site of a very significant battle.
0:52:53 > 0:52:54My guidebook tells me that
0:52:54 > 0:52:59"the entrance to Baltimore Harbour is defended by Fort McHenry,
0:52:59 > 0:53:03"which was unsuccessfully bombarded by the British fleet
0:53:03 > 0:53:06"in the War of 1812."
0:53:06 > 0:53:09In the short time that I've been in America,
0:53:09 > 0:53:13I've discovered that Americans have a much clearer memory of this war
0:53:13 > 0:53:15than the British do,
0:53:15 > 0:53:16and that could be because,
0:53:16 > 0:53:19just before the British forces reached this point,
0:53:19 > 0:53:21they'd burnt down the White House.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33'I'm meeting Fort McHenry Park Ranger Scott Sheads.'
0:53:38 > 0:53:41Scott, why were the United States and United Kingdom
0:53:41 > 0:53:45at war with each other between 1812 and 1814?
0:53:45 > 0:53:49Well, some 37 years after the American Revolution,
0:53:49 > 0:53:52which gave us our independence from Great Britain,
0:53:52 > 0:53:54we had the Napoleonic Wars.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58England and France caught in a global struggle, worldwide,
0:53:58 > 0:54:01and the young America is caught up in this,
0:54:01 > 0:54:05and so, both England and France have put economic blockades against us,
0:54:05 > 0:54:09and so, in 1812, we declare war on Great Britain.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13We certainly don't have the means or the money to
0:54:13 > 0:54:15cross the Atlantic Ocean and invade England,
0:54:15 > 0:54:17but we can invade Canada.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21That's just up the road here, and so, if we can invade Canada,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25we might be able to have England lessen the sanctions against us.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27But it was a disaster.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30The American forces were no match for the powerful
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and experienced British Army,
0:54:33 > 0:54:35who went on to mount further attacks.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38So, in August of 1814,
0:54:38 > 0:54:4150 British warships, 5,000 British troops,
0:54:41 > 0:54:44march on Washington DC and defeat the American army,
0:54:44 > 0:54:48twice their size, enter the nation's capital and burn the White House,
0:54:48 > 0:54:51the President's house, the Capitol and other government buildings.
0:54:51 > 0:54:53The glow of Washington is so powerful
0:54:53 > 0:54:55that citizens here in Baltimore, 40 miles away,
0:54:55 > 0:54:59could see the glow of Washington burning on the horizon,
0:54:59 > 0:55:02and they knew Baltimore would be next.
0:55:02 > 0:55:03And it was.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05Not quite three weeks later,
0:55:05 > 0:55:10British warships moved up the Patapsco River towards Fort McHenry.
0:55:10 > 0:55:13The Battle for Baltimore raged for over 25 hours,
0:55:13 > 0:55:19but a 1,000-strong force of citizens and soldiers held firm.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23So, on that morning, September 14, at dawn's early light,
0:55:23 > 0:55:27four young fifer and drummer boys come out,
0:55:27 > 0:55:30and with them, they bring a large American flag,
0:55:30 > 0:55:32and as the flag is hoisted,
0:55:32 > 0:55:34those young fifer and drummer boys
0:55:34 > 0:55:39play the national song of America - the Yankee Doodle.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41MUSIC: Yankee Doodle
0:55:41 > 0:55:45And the tune is heard by a young American on a ship in the harbour -
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Francis Scott Key.
0:55:48 > 0:55:49And from that vantage point,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52he sees the flag going up for the first time,
0:55:52 > 0:55:57and knows that the Americans have achieved a victory,
0:55:57 > 0:55:58and so, in those few moments,
0:55:58 > 0:56:03he is inspired to write four stanzas that will become known as
0:56:03 > 0:56:06the national anthem of the United States.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10- HE RECITES:- "Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
0:56:10 > 0:56:15"what so proudly we held at the twilight's last gleaming?
0:56:15 > 0:56:19"And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
0:56:19 > 0:56:24"gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
0:56:24 > 0:56:28"Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
0:56:28 > 0:56:29"over the land of the free
0:56:29 > 0:56:32- "and the home of the brave?" - MUSIC: Star-Spangled Banner
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Scott, I've so often heard the words of the Star-Spangled Banner.
0:56:36 > 0:56:40I found them obscure and difficult to understand, but, of course,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43coming here, now, it's all unravelled.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45It's all absolutely clear.
0:56:56 > 0:57:01Heroism at Fort McHenry inspired the Star-Spangled Banner anthem,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04and when you hear an American crowd sing it,
0:57:04 > 0:57:07their fervour and patriotism are impressive.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09As the United States expanded,
0:57:09 > 0:57:12the railways knitted together this vast country,
0:57:12 > 0:57:14and, after the Civil War,
0:57:14 > 0:57:18they helped to unify it across the Mason-Dixon Line,
0:57:18 > 0:57:19but here in Baltimore,
0:57:19 > 0:57:24you sense that there are two nations divided by a boundary of privilege.
0:57:24 > 0:57:28One is predominantly white, the other predominantly black,
0:57:28 > 0:57:32and no amount of singing about victory over the British
0:57:32 > 0:57:35two centuries ago is going to bring them together.
0:57:35 > 0:57:39The United States remains a work in progress.
0:57:44 > 0:57:49'Next time, I'll pick up my spending money.'
0:57:49 > 0:57:50This bundle is 80,000.
0:57:50 > 0:57:56I've never held anything like that much money in my life.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00'I'll visit the newsroom that revealed the Watergate scandal...'
0:58:00 > 0:58:03It went from this break-in all the way to the White House.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06'..before discovering how Abraham Lincoln met his end.'
0:58:06 > 0:58:09And, from just a few inches, fired a shot
0:58:09 > 0:58:11that hit him right behind the left ear.