ipl-logo

Andrew Carnegie's Influence On Society

952 Words4 Pages

Andrew Carnegie was one of the richest people to ever live. He gained his wealth through the steel industry. He was also a big philanthropist which meant he loved to give away his money for a good cause. A big reason why Andrew Carnegie is famous it because he has donated over 350 million dollars which was about 90% of his wealth. By donating his money he has greatly affected society by helping build libraries, universities, a music hall, and huge donations to museums. He also had a great influence on treatment of employees and his views on their rights. Andrew Carnegie was also a huge peace advocate.
After Andrew Carnegie retired and sold his company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million becoming the richest man alive at the time, he became a …show more content…

He even said himself that he supported labor unions. He even disapproved the use of strikebreakers because he thought that no steel mill is worth a drop of blood. Many people thought that thought this until the homestead steel strike. Andrew Carnegie went back to Scotland where his roots were from, and during this time he put Henry Clay Frick in charge of operations while he was gone. During this time Andrew Carnegie basically told Frick to do whatever it takes to settle it. By Giving Frick the power, Frick had decided instead of negotiating with the union that he wouldn 't and he closed the gates to about 3,800 workers. After a few weeks Frick hired about 1,700 scabs to work. After 95 days and a loss of 9 strikers and 7 pinkertons the union gave up and many people ended up getting their old job back with about a 22% wage deduction. After this Andrew Carnegie’s reputation for being a friend of the worker is ruined and now many do not think he is a friend of the worker anymore. Because the strikers lost, many steel companies cut their employees wages and labor unions were not recognized until the 1930’s which was an enormous setback for workers rights and freedoms. After this Andrew Carnegie kept underpaying his employees and they still had long hours. Carnegie 's employees usually worked 7 days a week and they would work 12 hour days and they would still make less that about $10 per

Show More
Related
1082 Words | 5 Pages

They did not accept any competition and would go through great lengths to remain the main steel producers. This meant lowering production costs and paying lower wages. Their controversial decision to take down the AAISW (Amalgamated Association of Steel Workers) in 1892 led to the most horrific, catastrophic event in history. The workers were furious at getting lower wages and refused to work. Carnegie inconveniently leaves to his home in Scotland leaving Frick with all the trouble.

Read More
899 Words | 4 Pages

Andrew Carnegie is a steel plant owner who claims to support unions and the working man. His charge is that he ignored the legitimate grievances of his employees at his plant in Homestead Pennsylvania and that his neglect contributed to the death of several of his employees during a strike at Homestead in June of 1892 and that he should be held accountable. Andrew Carnegie has dealt with strikes at his plants before. One strike was at his plant in Braddock Pennsylvania where he settled with the workers by agreeing to higher pay but without input from the Union, essentially ruining it. The union at Homestead was one of the last unions in any of his plants.

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie’s was one of the most successful businessmen during America’s Age of Industrialization in the 1880’s. After the Civil War, he saw a future in having a career in the iron industry, and later on, decided to invest in the steel industry (PBS). Though Carnegie is most known for his contribution in the steel industry, he took part in a few other businesses as well. However, the Gilded Age is an era full of poverty and corruption hidden underneath the prosperous, wealthy nation, and the working conditions within Carnegie Steel Company were not much better than those in other factories (Resetar).

Read More
639 Words | 3 Pages

Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland, but immigrated to the United States in 1848 with his parents. Carnegie became wealthy through his venture in steel with his company Carnegie Steel Corporation. He sold the company in 1901 for $480 million to JP Morgan and decided to focus on his philanthropic work. Carnegie developed an ideology called the “Gospel of Wealth”, in which he stated that “those who accumulated money had an obligation to use it to promote the advancement of society”. Carnegie became famous for practicing what he preached, as he would fund public libraries and gave money to charities.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

In 1870 he founded the Carnegie steel company a step which cemented his name as one of the “ captains of industry.” By the 1890’s the company was the largest and most profitable industry enterprise in the world. In 1892 the homestead strike in Homestead Pennsylvania pitted in one of the most powerful new corporation. Carnegie steel company against the nation's strongest trade union. Henry Clay Frick stepped up production demands and when

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

The United States began to enter a prosperous and increasing period after the civil war known as industrialization. Despite the fact that industrialization led the United States to wealth, it also led it to many social and economic problems during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, Upton Sinclair and Andrew Carnegie were the people who responded to the economic and social problems generated by industrialization. Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthy men in America and was very charitable, he impacted the United States with his steel to transform cities. During these economic and social problems generated by industrialization, he responded by providing money to fund charities.

Read More
408 Words | 2 Pages

The feeling, shown in Nast's illustration after the railroad strike of 1877, that amalgamations simply lead to more " communistic values" and general uniformity made it very arduous to genuinely get anything done. Samuel Gompers, progenitor of the American Federation of Labor, argued that the right to strike was absolutely obligatory if any reforms were going to be made and not even this right had been officially granted to the people by regime (Document I). Gompers made it very pellucid that not even the very substratum of organized labor had been established and so up until this point the advances that had been made, were virtually frivolous. In conclusion, from 1875-1900 very few advances were made through organized labor in achieving better working conditions for workers.

Read More
1000 Words | 4 Pages

Carnegie believed it was the obligation of the rich to redistribute their excess wealth back into society though not directly as simply giving it away could lead to dependency and slothfulness rather though improvements and the building of public resources such as libraries. Although he is known for this great service it came at a cost Carnegie was known for his philanthropy, but he brought down unions with the help of Henry Fick when they protested wage cuts and long work weeks with little pay. Debs, on the other hand, saw that the way to fighting the high amount of poverty was for the government to step in and own all industries and distribute the wealth accordingly to the amount of work. Debs caught national attention during the Pullman strike in which workers stood against put cuts they questioned why should a few obtain great wealth off the back-breaking labors of hundreds if not thousands forced to work long hours in poor conditions if the government followed their plan they believed that much more would benefit than those who would not. Thought the strike failed when the federal government sided with their enemies it got the message out that they wanted about the horrible conditions and long hours that workers suffered, and they had enough when the pay cuts and long works hours only seemed to increase Debs would eventually be placed in jail for his views and anti-war behavior during world war

Read More
625 Words | 3 Pages

Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland on November 1835. Growing up poor, Carnegie started working 12 hour shifts at the age of 12 for a $1.20. As he started getting older he taught himself new things which would eventually lead him to making $1,500 a year at the age of 17. In the early 1870s Carnegie was so successful in the steel industry that he sold his Carnegie Steel Company to J.P. Morgan for $480 million making him the richest man in the world. Before dying Andrew Carnegie dedicated himself to helping charities and donating approximately $350 million to education.

Read More
677 Words | 3 Pages

The strikers eventually won causing the company to stay closed. Then five days later the governor in Pennsylvania sent soldiers to restore order and re-open the the plant. Two months later the strike was called off, Carnegie was criticized for Fricks actions. Carnegie did a lot to achieve his large empire, he fought competitors and made good business

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

Andrew Carnegie was one of the most famous and wealthiest American industrialist during the Industrial Age. He was a robber baron who made a fortune in the steel industry and applied vertical integration to his business. Carnegie contradicted his views as a robber baron because he supported, but destroyed many unions. This made many of his views unethical.

Read More
1038 Words | 5 Pages

Carnegie’s right hand was Henry Frick, who was known for his hostility. Frick was left in charge of the Homestead

Read More
835 Words | 4 Pages

The late nineteenth century was a pivotal moment in American history. During this time, the Industrial Revolution transformed the nation, railroads had dissipated all throughout the country, and economic classes began to form, separating the wealthy from the poor. One of the wealthiest men of this generation was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who fled to America to make millions off the railroad, oil and even steel businesses. Carnegie is considered one of the richest men in history, and even with all that wealth he decided to give back to the community. As a matter of fact, Carnegie donated most of his funds to charities, universities and libraries in his last few years.

Read More
460 Words | 2 Pages

This is also known as the Homestead Strike. Carnegie then hired Pinkerton thugs to attack the workers. In the same excerpt, the author says, “he hired Pinkerton thugs to intimidate strikers. Many were killed in the conflict, and it was an episode that would forever hurt Carnegie's reputation and haunt the man.” He uses unfair ways to have a successful business through low wages, and using wealth to his

Read More
454 Words | 2 Pages

Carnegie was not a hero, because a hero does a deed selflessly, but he thought a lot about himself. 184,400,000 dollars was spent on big-name corporations and associations that would honor him by naming a meaningful belonging after him (Doc C). Carnegie was a man who wanted to feed his ego but should have donated money to help the community, not make himself known.     Andrew Carnegie was not a true hero. Many may say, going from rags to riches makes Carnegie a hero.

Read More

More about Andrew Carnegie's Influence On Society

Related Topics

Open Document