Andrew Carnegie Philanthropy Essay

Philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie Should Andrew Carnegie be considered a hero for providing charities and improving the welfare of others? Andrew Carnegie was not a hero because he didn’t help those who needed it most, believed in Social Darwinism, and was leading society into a downfall. Andrew Carnegie was a man who was born poor, but became rich by investing into steel. He quickly had a monopoly, or complete control over a specific industry, over the steel industry and the richest man in the United States. He would often donate money he saw as surplus to help the community; such as building libraries, universities, and institutes. He kept finding ways to give his money away until his death, and even now his still operating corporation is one of the largest in the world.

He would often cut the wages of his workers while giving extravagant things out to places only he cared about; such as Scotland, where he grew up. An illustration in The Saturday Globe depicts Carnegie as two faced and evil. It says; “Forty-millionaire Carnegie in his great double role. As the tightfisted employer he reduces wages that he may play philanthropist and give away libraries, etc.” (Document D). This was published only three days after the Homestead Strike at one of Carnegies Pittsburgh steel mills where several workers were killed. They entire strike, and many like it, were about cut wages for the workers. At the time Carnegie was worth millions while his workers worked 12-16 hour days, 7 days a week for a tiny fraction of that. And yet he chose to build buildings instead of paying his workers enough money so that they could afford to live and buy his