A young nation, born in revolution, America has always been a dynamic world power, not just politically but scientifically and socially through its economy, inventors and arts industry.

Based on the book by former Times editor and author of The American Century, Harold Evans, They Made America highlights several innovators in four documentaries across the week. 

Revolutionaries looks at the the river steamboat, tells how a slavery abolitionist invented the credit rating system and examines the legacy of Samuel Colt. 

Gamblers follows risk-takers, from Juan Trippe, founder of Pan-Am, and Ruth Handler, creator of the Barbie doll, to Thomas Watson Jr, who turned IBM into a world-leading firm.

Newcomers includes innovators Samuel Insull, who brought cheap electricity to the masses, Amadeo Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, and Ida Rosenthal, creator of the Maidenform bra. 

Rebels meets the men who bucked tradition, including Ted Turner, founder of 24-hour news channel CNN, and Russell Simmons, who turned hip-hop into a multi-media global phenomenon.