Haley Farrell 8/7/14 AP U.S History Summer Assignment • Andrew Carnegie was an industrialist who influenced the enlargement of the American steel industry in the conclusion of the 19th century. In his era, he was one of the most well-known philanthropists who had also given most of his wealth to charities and foundations. Carnegie believed that those who are wealthy should distribute their riches to work towards amelioration of society and to reduce the gap between socioeconomic statuses, which he expressed in an article called “The Gospel of Wealth” in 1889. Andrew gained his fortune by investing in railroads and bridges in the 1860’s and then later became a bond salesman in which he worked to elevate American enterprise in European countries.
“I began to stop accumulating and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution,” as said by Andrew Carnegie. The industrialist and hard-working Andrew Carnegie was a very successful businessman and philanthropist. Andrew Carnegie provided the United States economy to rise due to his steel production in the 1800’s and 1900’s. Although some may think Carnegie was a brutal businessman, Andrew Carnegie enhanced the United States due to his business investments, his philanthropy, and his educational institutions. One way Andrew Carnegie enhanced The United States is his business investments.
Andrew Carnegie was born November 25 of 1835 in the small town of Dunfermline in the United Kingdom. Raised in an impoverished family his parents worked hard and finally decided to find a new start in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an up and coming factory city. Working his way up from a meager factory worker to the superintendent of the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad company in just 8 years, and then creating Carnegie Steel, which he would sell for $480 million was no easy feat. At least it was no easy feat, according to Carnegie’s personal testimony at his trial last week, where he was charged with reckless endangerment, hypocrisy, and greed; all of which make him a robber baron, rather then a captain of industry. Despite Carnegie’s
During the Gilded Age, Andrew Carnegie became a wealthy man due to his control over the manufacturing and distribution of steel. The Carnegie Steel Company and its use of vertical and horizontal integration allowed Carnegie to control the production and distribution of his steel, which made him into a wealthy industrialist (The New Tycoons 2014). In his article “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie argues for the wealthy to give back their wealth to the community by providing “public institutions of various kinds … [to] improve the general condition of the people” (Foner 30). He uses this article to promote his Gospel of Wealth idea and provide his interpretation of the changing American society. Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth stated that “those who accumulated
In his view, hoarding wealth and failing to use it for the greater good was shameful. Carnegie, following his philosophy, donated millions of dollars to fund libraries, cultural institutions and education all around the world. By building and funding such institutions, Carnegie left behind a semblance of his positive contributions as a Captain of industry by setting an example for others in his position. Take detailed notes from the reading about why Carnegie was a Robber Baron (bullets are fine).
Carnegie was without a doubt a beneficent man. Not having any desire to kick the bucket with a crazy measure of cash, Carnegie chose to help general society. He was exceptionally contributing individual from society and gave away as much cash conceivable. " There stays, then, just a single method of utilizing incredible fortunes; … The obligation of the man of riches (is to) set a case of unobtrusive … living … ; and … to consider every surplus income … as trust assets … to create the most useful consequences of the group - the man of riches in this way turning into the … operator for his poorer brethren, conveying to their administration his prevalent astuteness, experience, and capacity to direct; showing improvement over they would or could accomplish for themselves… " (Document 8) says Carnegie.
His most famous article, “Wealth,” appearing in the North American Review. This held that a man who has great wealth has a duty to use his surplus wealth for “the improvement of mankind”. A “man who dies rich dies disgraced.” Carnegie’s own donations came to total about $350,000,000. His main charitable foundations, were the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Carnegie Corporation of New
Who was Andrew Carnegie? Andrew Carnegie was 13 years old when he moved from Scotland with his family and began working in a textile factory. Eventually he would go on to run the most successful steel company in history. Carnegie first began his empire during the depression in 1873 by starting a steel company where he controlled everything from the beginning with raw materials all the way to the end with distribution.
In document C, we see a partial list of his transactions with charities, including; the Teachers’ Pension Fund, the Homestead Relief Fund, the Carnegie Institution, and public libraries. The things these donations did were very helpful to many, helping professors get old age help, funding steel workers and their families, promoting scientific research, and helping to create over 2,811 public libraries. He also created the Carnegie Corporation, which was a supertrust made to continue giving out Carnegie’s fortune after his death, primarily to education. This shows that he used his finances to give back to communities, which he could only do because of his financial
Kayti Davenport Hanna, Josh HIST 1493 7 May 2023 Andrew Carnegie's influences made America rich The richest man in America was not always wealthy beyond belief. Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest Scottish American in the late 19th century storming through the American steel industry. Andrew Carnegie's philosophy was that wealthy individuals like himself have a social responsibility to give to the greater good. Carnegie’s three modes affirmed the economic explosion in America by arguing that wealth can be left to the families of the decedents, be bequeathed for public purposes; or, finally, be administered during their lives by its possessors to continue the wealth of the public.
Imagine being the richest person in America & giving away money to people in need. Sounds like a nice thing to do, doesn’t it? This was the case for multi-millionaire, Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie grew up in Dunfermline, Scotland and moved along with his family to the United States in the late 1800s. He worked his way from being a poor Irish immigrant to become one of the most popular and successful industrialists that helped change the US steel industry in the late 1900s.
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.
Despite the images of wealth and grandeur conjured by the name of Andrew Carnegie today, the man came from very humble beginnings. Born November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland, Carnegie spent his childhood in poverty, working to bring in additional income just so his family could survive. In 1848, the family made the voyage across the Atlantic in search of a better life and better opportunity, which the astute Carnegie would soon find and take great advantage of, but first they had to get there. The family was so impoverished that they had to borrow money just to make the trip. The Carnegie’s eventually ended up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Carnegie was admittedly less worried about the ethicality of what he was doing, but instead the legality. This created the opportunity for greater profit margins, but also cost people’s lives. No amount of money is worth one’s life. Finally, Russ Juskalian argues whether or not Andrew Carnegie was truly generous. He also makes the larger argument that affluent people in general have more of a responsibility to contribute to society and therefore should not be praised for it.
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.
