Mechanic to Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story

Mechanic to Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story tells the story of Peter Cooper, one of the greatest leaders of the first generation of America’s industrial revolution — a self-made man who also became a great philanthropist, a social visionary and a popular hero.

He helped shape America in its transition from an agrarian to an industrial, then a consumer-oriented society, from an uncertain nation to one that was rich, strong, and confident.

His numerous innovations and public activities both reflected the changing American social order and transformed it in fundamental ways. When his business success brought him wealth and power, he used his position to foster economic and social justice.

Production Credits

Janet Gardner — Producer/Director/Writer
Elena Mannes — Writer/Consulting Producer
Kevin Cloutier — Director of Photography
Jessica Weiner — Editor/Coordinating Producer
Keith Yeager, Zelda Fazaeli Yanovich, Danielle Regis, Mitsuko Brooks — Associate Producers
C. David Thomas — Graphic Artist

Consultants

Dr. Sean Wilentz, Princeton University
John Steele Gordon, Author/Business Historian
Dr. Peter Buckley, The Cooper Union
Dr. Barbara Balliet, Rutgers University

This film was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council For The Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations in this film do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.