0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:09with my reliable Appleton's guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18my Appleton's general guide to North America will direct me
0:00:18 > 0:00:21to all that's novel, beautiful,
0:00:21 > 0:00:26memorable and striking in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28THEY SHOUT
0:00:28 > 0:00:30As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:35I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West
0:00:35 > 0:00:39and how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global superstate of today.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14My rail journey across America's Midwest
0:01:14 > 0:01:17has brought me to Lake Michigan.
0:01:17 > 0:01:18At the time of my Appleton's guide,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23the United States was at the forefront of a global second Industrial Revolution
0:01:23 > 0:01:28featuring steel, chemicals and heavy engineering.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Railroads and steamships tied the markets of the world together.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37The cities of the Great Lakes supplied the ingredients for success -
0:01:37 > 0:01:41a transport hub, innovation and manual labour.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51I started my journey in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities, and travelled
0:01:51 > 0:01:54alongside the Mississippi River
0:01:54 > 0:01:57before crossing into Wisconsin at La Crosse.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Now I'm bound for the shores of Lake Michigan at Milwaukee,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06from where I'll turn south to the Windy City, Chicago,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10before travelling the length of Illinois, calling at Centralia.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12I'll then rejoin the Mississippi
0:02:12 > 0:02:15before ending in Memphis, Tennessee.
0:02:16 > 0:02:21This time, I'm making my way east to explore Wisconsin's largest city -
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Milwaukee.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27From here, I'll head south, 30 miles along the shores of Lake Michigan,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30ending my journey in Racine.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36I taste the freedom of the American open road...
0:02:36 > 0:02:38Ready to ride? I'm ready to ride.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44..I'm bowled over by Milwaukee's charms...
0:02:44 > 0:02:47CHEERING
0:02:47 > 0:02:50..and learn how innovation delivered a fuel injection...
0:02:50 > 0:02:52And a little bit of gas.
0:02:52 > 0:02:53..to 19th-century farming.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02By the time of my Appleton's,
0:03:02 > 0:03:06the railways had already helped to establish communities in the Midwest.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11Now these communities were transforming America.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15My first stop will be Milwaukee, which Appleton's tells me
0:03:15 > 0:03:18is the commercial capital of Wisconsin and next to Chicago,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20the largest city in the Northwest,
0:03:20 > 0:03:25situated on the west shore of the lake at the mouth of the Milwaukee River.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28As railroads linked up with waterways,
0:03:28 > 0:03:34technology supplied jobs for this city of motivated immigrants.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38MAN OVER PA: The entire crew would like to thank you all very much
0:03:38 > 0:03:40for travelling with us.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Your final stop - downtown Milwaukee.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50The railroad first reached Milwaukee in 1851.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52I enjoyed the ride, thank you so much.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04But my Appleton's reminds readers that this city
0:04:04 > 0:04:05is also the best harbour
0:04:05 > 0:04:08on the south or west shore of Lake Michigan,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11the third largest of America's Great Lakes.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23There is no hope of seeing across Lake Michigan
0:04:23 > 0:04:26to the opposite shore - it is far too vast.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31To Europeans like me, these Great Lakes seem like seas
0:04:31 > 0:04:35and they are an important part of the making of America.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38These enormous bodies of water, joined together,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43enabled people and goods to travel vast distances through them in
0:04:43 > 0:04:45the days before the railroads.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59The Milwaukee that greeted the Appleton's traveller
0:04:59 > 0:05:01had a distinctive appearance.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Apparently, the peculiar cream colour of the Milwaukee brick gives
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the city a unique and pretty appearance
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and has earned for it the name the Cream City of the Lakes.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Despite Milwaukee's genteel architecture,
0:05:21 > 0:05:25at the time of my guidebook, it was a proudly blue-collar city.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Appleton's tells me that manufactures here are extensive
0:05:30 > 0:05:36and embraced pig iron, iron castings, machinery and wheels.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Give me a pair of wheels!
0:05:44 > 0:05:47A few decades after my guidebook was published,
0:05:47 > 0:05:53Milwaukee's mechanical ingenuity gave birth to an American icon.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58The motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson was founded here
0:05:58 > 0:06:02and remains a symbol of the United States' freewheeling,
0:06:02 > 0:06:03pioneer spirit.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Hello, Bill. Hello, Michael.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12How are you? What a wonderful machine!
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Thank you so much.
0:06:14 > 0:06:19So, you are Bill Davidson, as in Harley-Davidson.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20What's the connection?
0:06:20 > 0:06:25Well, my great-grandfather was one of the original founders of the company,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30William A Davidson was his name, and we are literally within...
0:06:30 > 0:06:34several yards of where that original factory shed was,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38and that was in the back yard of my great-great-grandparents.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Did motorbikes exist when Harley and Davidson got going?
0:06:42 > 0:06:44Yes. There were motorcycles.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49In the late 1800s, there was actually a steam-powered motorcycle.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Quite a contraption.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55There were a lot of different people working in this arena of
0:06:55 > 0:06:58trying to develop a motorcycle.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Childhood friends William S Harley and Arthur Davidson
0:07:04 > 0:07:07dreamed of building a winning design.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10They enlisted the help of Arthur's older brothers,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13who had experience in Milwaukee's railroad workshops.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18And, in 1903, they rolled serial number one out of that shed.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Given that there was so much competition,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23how did Harley and Davidson get their break, do you think?
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Very early on, they created a unique look,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29the unique sound and they created a unique feel.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32You know, it's a magnet, it pulls you in.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34When you see a Harley, people actually say,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36even if they don't ride,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39they will say, "Nice Harley!"
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I wonder if it's something to do with the shape of your continent.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It is vast.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Is that part of it? It's the invitation to the Easy Rider.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52You know, it might be that Wild West feeling,
0:07:52 > 0:07:54that little bit of rebel in all of us, right?
0:07:54 > 0:07:56Bill, happy riding to you.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Thank you so much. It was a pleasure.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06Today, there are plenty of magnificent machines on display
0:08:06 > 0:08:09at one of Milwaukee's regular biker gatherings.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23Hello, ma'am. Hi, sir. Would you mind switching on the engine for me?
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Let me hear the sound of your bike.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29ENGINE TURNS ON
0:08:31 > 0:08:33I can't hear it!
0:08:33 > 0:08:34ENGINE ROARS
0:08:35 > 0:08:37I heard it.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Thank you very much.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Where do you ride your bike to?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Actually, I came from Saudi Arabia.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46No! Yeah.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Do you feel a companionship with other Harley riders?
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Yeah, sure. Why?
0:08:53 > 0:08:58Because we are a biker relationship between ourselves.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Biker is always brotherhood, you can't buy it.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Enjoy your biking. Thank you.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08Hey! I love them pants you've got on! Oh!
0:09:08 > 0:09:10You're so sweet.
0:09:10 > 0:09:11How nice to see you.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14I'd get away with those pants. I like that.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17And who's this you've got on the back here? This is my mini me.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Your mini me? Yeah, she has travelled the 48 states with me.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24You've been through 48 states? In 27 days.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27So, tell me, what's it all about? You feel free.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30It is like a therapy for me.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34The moment I got on the bike, it was like, whoa!
0:09:34 > 0:09:36You know?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39It's just... It's therapeutic, truly.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42Have...? Do you ride motorcycles? I can ride you here.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46You could? I could. So, you know what it is to ride on this seat?
0:09:46 > 0:09:48Do you know what it's called?
0:09:48 > 0:09:52Pillion? No, it's called riding bitch.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55So, you'll be riding as my bitch!
0:09:56 > 0:09:58It's a privilege.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02That's right, it's definitely a privilege!
0:10:02 > 0:10:05You'll be pleased to hear that I don't have to leather up.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Ready to ride? I'm ready to ride. OK.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38I have joined a brotherhood and a sisterhood of people
0:10:38 > 0:10:40linked by their choice of motorbike.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55Back in 1879,
0:10:55 > 0:11:00Milwaukee was one of the powerhouses of America's Industrial Revolution.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06It was the plentiful immigrant workforce that enabled the United States
0:11:06 > 0:11:09to lead the world in manufacturing.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11As my guidebook tells me,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Milwaukee's population growth has been very rapid and,
0:11:15 > 0:11:20in this downtown district, there is evidence of one group of newcomers.
0:11:21 > 0:11:26Appleton's tells me that Germans constitute nearly half the population.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30Their influence is everywhere - breweries, beer saloons, gast haus,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32music halls and restaurants.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36One hears German spoken as often as English,
0:11:36 > 0:11:38but what ideas did they bring?
0:11:39 > 0:11:42I'm making my way to Turner Hall,
0:11:42 > 0:11:47which was a focal point for Milwaukee's 19th-century German community.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49History professor Aims McGuinness
0:11:49 > 0:11:52has been a so-called Turner for eight years.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55It's great to be here. It's an...intriguingly historic building.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57I mean, for example, what's that?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01This is a monument to members of the Turners who died fighting for
0:12:01 > 0:12:04the union during the Civil War in the United States.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08The centrepiece of this beautiful building is its imposing ballroom.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16Aims, there is a wonderful faded grandeur to the hall.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18What have been its uses over the years?
0:12:18 > 0:12:21This was a place to have political debates, to read books,
0:12:21 > 0:12:25to listen to a lecture, to listen to Beethoven
0:12:25 > 0:12:29and also to hoist a beer and to build your muscular strength.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32All those things went together for the Turners and, for us, they still do.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34What was the origin of the Turners?
0:12:34 > 0:12:36The Turners originated in Prussia,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38in what's now Germany, in the early 1800s.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40The founding principles were
0:12:40 > 0:12:42the notions of a sound mind and sound body.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Founder Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
0:12:44 > 0:12:47named his movement after the physical exercises
0:12:47 > 0:12:50he devised that he called Turnen.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Today, this word still means gymnastics in German,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57but Turnerism went far beyond sport.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58In order to become a Turner,
0:12:58 > 0:13:01one must commit oneself to the cause of liberty
0:13:01 > 0:13:03and to oppose tyranny in all its forms.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05In Europe, the principal form of tyranny
0:13:05 > 0:13:08to which they imposed themselves was monarchy.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10When they came to the United States,
0:13:10 > 0:13:14it was the institution of slavery that they opposed.
0:13:14 > 0:13:16Many Turners fled Prussia for America
0:13:16 > 0:13:21after participating in a failed revolution in 1848.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25Soon, Turners defended their new nation's founding principle
0:13:25 > 0:13:29of liberty with their lives, marching into battle
0:13:29 > 0:13:32with the Union Army in the American Civil War.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Do you think then that the Civil War monument that we just saw
0:13:35 > 0:13:38had a real significance in demonstrating their patriotism?
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Oh, I think absolutely.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44In some ways, a monument created in the early 20th century in German
0:13:44 > 0:13:47commemorating people who had sacrificed their lives for freedom
0:13:47 > 0:13:51in the United States wasn't so much a provocation, and the message is,
0:13:51 > 0:13:55"Look, one does not need to speak English at all times in order to be a patriotic American,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58"one can speak German as well."
0:13:58 > 0:14:01And who will tell these people that they are not fully patriotic?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04They've sacrificed their lives for the nation.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09German influence on the modern United States
0:14:09 > 0:14:12was suppressed during two world wars,
0:14:12 > 0:14:17but the principle of sound body, sound mind lives on here.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Stretch your legs as far as you can.
0:14:20 > 0:14:21Try and reach your ankles.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23What?!
0:14:25 > 0:14:28How do you do that? Well, I'm a woman.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I can only hope that my tight hamstrings
0:14:31 > 0:14:33aren't a sign of an inflexible intellect
0:14:33 > 0:14:37as I join the weekly Ladies Auxiliary exercise class
0:14:37 > 0:14:39under the guidance of Nora.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Arms over your head.
0:14:47 > 0:14:48Up.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51MICHAEL GROANS
0:14:51 > 0:14:53Try to keep your elbows straight.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56MICHAEL GROANS
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Bend...and down.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01These ladies are giving me an enormous work-out.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07OK. Now get up any way you can.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Whoo!
0:15:22 > 0:15:27In the 1880s, Milwaukee was known as the nation's watering hole.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30German immigrants brought with them a taste for beer
0:15:30 > 0:15:35and my Appleton's tells me the breweries are large and numerous.
0:15:35 > 0:15:41Pints of Pilsner were the perfect accompaniment to another German gift to Milwaukee - bowling.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46I'm calling in at Holler House bowling alley,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48one of the oldest in the country,
0:15:48 > 0:15:53run for the past 62 years by the redoubtable Marcy.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Hello! Hi.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57Marcy, do you serve beer here?
0:15:57 > 0:15:58Do I serve beer? Yeah.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01Well, what the hell do you think I'm here for? Exactly!
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Could I have a Milwaukee beer, please?
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Sure. There you go.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07You bowl? I used to.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10I bowled until I was 70 years old, but now I'm 90.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12You are 90? Yeah.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Wow! Are you going to show me the basics of how to bowl?
0:16:16 > 0:16:19I show you how to bowl? Yeah, sure. Sure, what the hell?
0:16:21 > 0:16:25American ten-pin bowling evolved from traditional European skittles.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27What kind of fingers have you got?
0:16:27 > 0:16:30Erm...stubby ones. This should fit you.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32OK. OK.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34Like that, yeah? Now what?
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Now, see that middle arrow?
0:16:36 > 0:16:39Yeah. Throw it towards that one.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Do it for the team, Mike!
0:16:43 > 0:16:46CHEERS OF ENCOURAGEMENT
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Whoa!
0:16:56 > 0:16:59The pin boy here is human, not mechanical.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09CHEERING
0:17:10 > 0:17:11CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Hello.
0:17:39 > 0:17:4519th-century Milwaukee might seem to have been a macho kind of place,
0:17:45 > 0:17:46but it wasn't all beer,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50bowling and bikers at the time of my Appleton's guide.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52While I'm in the city,
0:17:52 > 0:17:54I want to look into a small appliance
0:17:54 > 0:17:58that altered forever both the office and the home -
0:17:58 > 0:18:04a certain inventive Milwaukee type was key to the development.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13I've come to the Milwaukee Public Museum to track down
0:18:13 > 0:18:16the history of the typewriter.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23In street scenes that would have been familiar to an Appleton's traveller,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27I'm meeting curator Al Muchka.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Very good to see you. Good to see you, too.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Why is Milwaukee important in the development of the typewriter?
0:18:32 > 0:18:36Well, Milwaukee is important because of Christopher Latham Sholes.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40He was one of our local residents, he was an inventor, a newspaperman,
0:18:40 > 0:18:46and he was working on an addressing device for his newspapers,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49first by looking at how to transmit the action
0:18:49 > 0:18:53of the finger to a letter on the page -
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and we can take a look at that right here.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00That is an extraordinary thing because, to me,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03it resembles a piano much more than it does a typewriter.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05Well, this is one of the early models.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07We believe this is about 1868.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10The idea was that you would strike a key, like a piano,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and it would actuate across these bars,
0:19:13 > 0:19:19which were then tied to a tower with rods and actuators
0:19:19 > 0:19:23that would actually bring the type piece up to strike the paper.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25Incredibly inventive.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28But now, this suddenly begins to look like a typewriter.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32What is this? This is an 1870s version of the Sholes typewriter.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36So what we have here is a refinement.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38The biggest thing here is, by this time,
0:19:38 > 0:19:40they actually developed the Qwerty keyboard
0:19:40 > 0:19:42that we are familiar with today.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47So why do we have Q-W-E-R-T-Y at the beginning of our keyboard?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Well, it has to do with the arrangement of the rods
0:19:50 > 0:19:54and all of the little connections inside of the machine.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57If you put it in a regular alphabetic order,
0:19:57 > 0:20:01things tend to cross or letters next to each other will catch on each other.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03That is extraordinary.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06I mean, I have here, obviously, a 21st-century mobile phone,
0:20:06 > 0:20:08it has a Qwerty keyboard,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10and you're telling me that
0:20:10 > 0:20:14the origin of that was a mechanical difficulty that,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17way back in the 19th century, Sholes was trying to solve.
0:20:17 > 0:20:18That's exactly right.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22It was established in the 1870s and it lives with us today.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Sholes' design went into mass production
0:20:28 > 0:20:32after he won the backing of the Remington company.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36The Remington No 1 went on sale in 1874.
0:20:36 > 0:20:41It became the world's first commercially successful typewriter.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46Sholes had used his daughter Lillian to demonstrate his earlier devices
0:20:46 > 0:20:51and Remington continued to market its newfangled contraptions to women.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Al, these are...
0:20:56 > 0:20:58wonderful objects and literally beautiful.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02This is one of the original Sholes and Glidden machines.
0:21:02 > 0:21:06It's painted and decorated this way because of the Remington company.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08So the idea was that,
0:21:08 > 0:21:12if the scary typewriting machine was decorated in a similar way
0:21:12 > 0:21:16to an object that's already in your home, you'd be more apt to use it,
0:21:16 > 0:21:17especially for women.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Their manual dexterity was considered to be superior to that of men,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24so they were really desired as typists.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27By 1888, there were 60,000 typists across America
0:21:27 > 0:21:29and most of them were women.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32Were women typists reasonably well paid?
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Your average clerk at the time was making about $9 a week.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39An experienced typist could make $20 a week.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41That was an incredible amount of money at the time.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45So the typewriter, an object that I very much take for granted,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49had a huge impact on business, a huge impact on society, too.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50That's exactly right.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02I'm bidding Milwaukee farewell
0:22:02 > 0:22:06and following my Appleton's 30 miles south.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23The book tells me that the tracks run along the west shore of Lake Michigan
0:22:23 > 0:22:25through a rich farming region.
0:22:26 > 0:22:31Farmers played a vital role in 19th-century urbanisation
0:22:31 > 0:22:33and industrialisation.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37I'm heading for Racine, Wisconsin, the second city of the state,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40pleasantly situated on a plateau
0:22:40 > 0:22:43projecting about five miles into the lake.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Manufactures are the chief source of the city's prosperity.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Today's researchers will produce a combined harvest
0:22:52 > 0:22:54of mechanisation and agriculture.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:23:13 > 0:23:16I'm on the case of a man who knew how to sort
0:23:16 > 0:23:18the wheat from the chaff.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Case IH Agriculture is now a global brand.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33Marketing manager Juliann Ulbrich knows how the story began.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Juliann, hi.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38Hi. I'm Michael.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Nice to meet you. What a wonderful place this is.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44What an extraordinary collection of historic artefacts.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49Now, your founder had the wonderful name Jerome Increase Case.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51Tell me about him. Yeah.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54So we often call him JI Case for short
0:23:54 > 0:23:58and he was actually born in New York state.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01He was a very bright young man
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and saw a lot of opportunity to make the farmers' life a lot easier.
0:24:05 > 0:24:10And so, in 1842, JI Case headed west to Wisconsin,
0:24:10 > 0:24:15the perfect place to turn his ideas into big business.
0:24:15 > 0:24:20The Midwest at that time was the big breadbasket of the United States
0:24:20 > 0:24:23and where industry meets agriculture.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28Right here, you have the Great Lakes, rail hubs,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31so that you can transport both equipment
0:24:31 > 0:24:37and the grain that you needed to feed the large population out east.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40This looks like the oldest piece in your collection. Tell me about that.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44Yeah, so this is a threshing machine from the 1860s.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48It beats the wheat to separate the straw from the grain.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Before you had this machine, how was that process undertaken?
0:24:51 > 0:24:57You would have farmers doing this by hand with flails, beating the grain.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59This was a huge improvement.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03In the 1840s, when JI Case started the business,
0:25:03 > 0:25:07about three quarters of the American population was involved in farming.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10It was extremely labour-intensive.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13But the threshing machine and other mechanisation,
0:25:13 > 0:25:18it greatly reduced the number of people that had to be tied to the land.
0:25:18 > 0:25:24So, by the 1870s, it was only about half of the population.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The Industrial Revolution was largely enabled by the advances in
0:25:28 > 0:25:31agriculture and mechanisation on the farms.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35At the time of my guidebook,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37JI Case's company was growing
0:25:37 > 0:25:40and diversifying into all manner of farm equipment.
0:25:42 > 0:25:46And some of their world-famous tractors are still made here
0:25:46 > 0:25:49in Racine at the rate of roughly one every 20 minutes.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56Jerome Increase Case was probably aptly named because
0:25:56 > 0:25:58the business has mushroomed,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01not only in the size of the production line,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04but in the size of the vehicles.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Just look at these jumbo tractors!
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Plant manager Nate Burgers
0:26:12 > 0:26:16has agreed to let me test drive a brand-new, six-cylinder,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19280 horsepower tractor.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21All right, so this is the final product here,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23so let me show you how to get inside this.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25Feel free to step right up there.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29I'm in.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33All right. Lovely, comfortable machine, actually.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36ENGINE STARTS
0:26:36 > 0:26:37Perfect.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And a little bit of gas.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Yeah. Can I put a little bit of gas? Go ahead, get it going.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59The latest Magnum tractor rolls off the line,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02a tribute to Jerome Increase Case.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20German Turners arrived in Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan,
0:27:20 > 0:27:24spreading a message of physical and mental fitness,
0:27:24 > 0:27:27perhaps contributing to an ideal workforce
0:27:27 > 0:27:30for America's second Industrial Revolution.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35Threshing machines made by JI Case contributed to the mechanisation
0:27:35 > 0:27:39of the countryside and the urbanisation of the population.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44Whilst Sholes typewriters ushered women into office jobs.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48But the city has achieved international attention thanks to
0:27:48 > 0:27:53Harley-Davidson, perhaps America's most iconic machine.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Next time, I make a few announcements...
0:28:00 > 0:28:032.58, your train's never late!
0:28:03 > 0:28:06..strike out in America's national game...
0:28:06 > 0:28:09There we go. You're looking like a natural already.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12..and I'm blown away by the Windy City.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15Chicago - surely one of the world's most stunning cities?
0:28:50 > 0:28:52Before I met you, I was a civilised woman.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56Now I don't even know what that means.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59Fear makes animals of us all.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Would the defendant please stand? What have I done?