Was Andrew Carnegie a Hero During the late 19th century, Andrew Carnegie made an investment in the steel industry that profited into a fortune, but Carnegie’s earlier life didn’t include wealth. In fact, his family immigrated from Scotland to America in the mid 1800s in search for opportunities. After working tirelessly for many years, Andrew Carnegie became one of the most successful businessmen and philanthropists of all time. Although he accomplished many achievements in the Industry there are underlying reasons indicating that Carnegie was not a hero, such as, his wealth management, inconsiderate work conditions, and hypocrisy.
The first main reason why he is not considered a hero is because of his wealth management that benefited no one, but himself. Before wealth he lived in a an attic shared by his family of four. His humbleness started to vanish as he bought a castle which renovations cost 10,000,000 (document A). The castle demonstrated how wealthy he was and the power he withheld. Besides that, he believed in “survival of the fittest” (Carnegie, 1889). In other words survival of the richest. This contrast with what a hero should be taking in consideration everyone not just the wealthy.
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Carnegie's wage was approximately 92,000 daily in a fifty hour shift. An employee's average daily wage depended on what they worked in but ranged from $1.09 to $1.87 (Bureau of the Census, 1975). Andrew Carnegie's workmen deserved more than what he offered them. Also, the labor these underpaid workers performed was in an unsafe environment where many died or were injured. An example of the life-threatening conditions in accordance with Hamlin Garland, “Sometimes a chain breaks, and a ladle tips over: and the iron explodes” (Garland, 1894). Carnegie could have offered more to his employers who risked their lives each day to provide him with a successful