Lindsey Graham

They were consumed with working through the flaws in the existing system to make it even more commercially viable.

Meanwhile, Tesla was left to continue to tinker with his AC system on his own in hopes of perfecting it.

But as he labored away in Paris, eventually Tesla became convinced that the future of electricity, the innovation, the investment, and the opportunity would be found in America.

So in May 1884, with Charles Batchelor's encouragement and a letter of recommendation to work for Edison's U.S.

company, Tesla boarded a ship bound for New York.

And there, he hoped to tap into the innovation and financial resources to finally make his mark on the world.

On June 6, 1884, 27-year-old Nikola Tesla arrived in New York City with just a few cents in his pocket and a small suitcase of belongings.

As he made his way from the harbor through the packed streets of lower Manhattan, he took in the sights and sounds of a city bustling with industry.

Workers wheeled heavy carts into warehouses, storefronts advertised their goods, and immigrants from across Europe poured in from the docks, many bound for crowded tenements across the city.

As Tesla made his way through these bustling crowds, he took note of the tall wooden posts looming overhead barely supporting a haphazard network of sagging electrical wires that powered the city's arc lights, telegraph stations, and telephone lines.

Tesla, accustomed to the refinement of Europe's great cities, was shocked, commenting, What I saw here was machine, rough, and unattractive.

Is this America?

It is a century behind Europe in civilization.

But despite Tesla's first impression, America was entering a new era of prosperity.

The country was emerging from a recent economic panic, and booming industry was creating a new wealthy class whose fortunes were tied to technology and innovation.

Tesla hoped his revolutionary design for electric power would find fertile ground in this new economy.

So the day after his arrival, Tesla followed the instructions he'd received from Charles Batchelor and made his way to the Edison Electric Light Company headquarters at 65 Fifth Avenue.

It was an impressive brownstone with multiple floors filled with electric chandeliers and lamps.

There was housing on the top floor for electricians in training, a workshop for new employees, and a laboratory where seasoned staff worked on refining Edison's latest inventions.

And thanks to his exemplary work at the Edison Company in Paris, Tesla arrived with a reference from Charles Batchelor.