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Andrew Carnegie Wealth Essay

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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. He believed that if the wealthy don't give back some of their profits to the community, they are living a dishonorable life, and although I didn't necessarily agree with this radical viewpoint at first, I now am a firm believer in Carnegie's argument about wealth. …show more content…

In this text, he makes a valid argument about why the rich should administer their own wealth unto those with less fortune. He claims wealth has revolutionized the United States. Carnegie mentions how the Sioux chief's wigwam was similar in appearance when compared to the huts of those inferior to him, and then compares this to the differences in economic classes of the 1800s. Carnegie later states how the very definition of wealth has changed throughout the years, where the poorest farmer of the 1860s owns more luxuries than the landlord of just a few years prior. Carnegie includes these two facts because he not only wants to show how much society has progressed throughout the last few hundred years, but also wants to set up his

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Carnegie was “One of the richest men in Gilded Age America, he promoted what he called the Gospel of Wealth, the idea that those who accumulated money had an obligation to use it to promote the advancement of society. ”(Foner pg.32) This is exactly how he used his wealth to help the less fortunate. Although the Gilded age was good, there were a lot of negatives. There was a tremendous amount of “economic inequality because the state did not regulate the growth of business.

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The captains of industry believed that the poor people were inferior to the rich people. The rich were superior because they had “wisdom, experience, and the ability to administer”. The duty of a rich person was to help out a poor person which was what was said in the Gospel of Wealth. The Gospel of Wealth is about how the rich person's responsibility is philanthropy. Carnegie believes in charity work so he would donate to libraries, and universities and schools and etc.

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He was one of the first economists to change the way the economy was run. Born on November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie was one of the most wealthiest and famous industrialists of the late 1800s and early 1920s. He is a Scottish-born American industrialist who pushed the economy of the United States into a whole new level. He was the one who expanded America’s economy into what we know it as today. Ever since he was a young boy, he already had ambition burning inside of him.

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Carnegie thinks it is better to build public institutions than give charity to the poor because the poor need to have the “desire to improve” and find help in these public institutions. (Carnegie 30). He believes that rather wealthy “Men who continue hoarding great sums all their lives” can find the proper use for their money, which is to help the community. (Carnegie 29). By just giving money to the poor the wealthy are doing all their work and instead the poor should find the assistance they need to improve their lives.

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Carnegie donated money to establish ($350 million worth) libraries, schools, universities, and pension funds for his employees. James J. Hill provided seed, grain, and cattle to farmers during the Great Depression. (Hook Exercise). These entrepreneurs promoted inventions that enhanced the way we live in the developing technological era. When people were in need, these captains of industry were there to save the day, sharing their money like it was no big deal; only it really was to the ones who needed

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Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835 into a poor Scottish family. After moving to the US, he worked multiple odd jobs. By the time he was 54, he owned Carnegie Steel Corporation, which was the largest of its kind. At the age of 65, he sold his business in order to dedicate his life to charity. I believe that he is considered a humanitarian because of his establishment of the Carnegie-Mellon University in 1900.

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What he did was give money to organizations, but not to the community who actually needed it. “The duty of the man of wealth is to set an example of modest living” (Document M). This says that all rich people should try and hide the money they have but, not all do that. Many people, like Carnegie, who are rich will flaunt it and not care what others say. That is not being moral or having integrity.

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The context given over Andrew Carnegie led me to believe many things going towards him as a human. Andrew Carnegie had many things accomplished in his life there is much evidence backing up him as a businessman, boss, and one of the richest men in the world. Andrew Carnegie was a classic rag to riches tail, from him coming to the US as an immigrant to being one of the richest and most eager men in the world. He immigrated to the US due to the swinging door policy the states had, allowing new races cultures, etc, to come over to the US and began a new life. During the time he immigrated to the US, there was a large-scale boom in the economy due to the industrial revolution allowing there to be more potential for success.

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Underpinnings and Effectiveness of Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” In Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth”, Carnegie proposed a system of which he thought was best to dispose of “surplus wealth” through progress of the nation. Carnegie wanted to create opportunities for people “lift themselves up” rather than directly give money to these people. This was because he considered that giving money to these people would be “improper spending”.

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One of the many Gospel of Wealth advocates was Andrew Carnegie, 1835-1919, who was an industrialist who emigrated from Scotland to American in 1848 (Wall, ANBO). Carnegie’s “Wealth” written in 1889

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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.

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If dispersed into the hands of the poor, the money might have been used for food or other necessities which helps out the person who spent the money to get those good or services, but it fails to have an influence on the race as a whole. The way money is spent is a capitalist environment is also able to be pictured through the sentence, “It were better for mankind that the millions of the rich were thrown into the sea than so spent as to encourage the slothful, the drunken, the unwealthy” (16). Through Carnegie’s perspective, if the money from the wealthy were not able to go to a good cause for the entire race to benefit off of, it would be better that the money is thrown away or not used at all rather than being a handout given to the less fortunate. If the poor and drunken part of the community wishes to spend money on things that they need or believe that are a necessity, even if they are not, those people must work for their money instead of using the money that was given to them from the

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During the late 19th century, there was a growth in industrialization. This brought new opportunities for the poor and the rich. For example, Carnegie helped build the steel industry in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, which made him one of the richest man in the world. As Carnegie gained more wealth, he questioned who money should be given to. Carnegie was both a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry.

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Andrew Carnegie makes it clear that people in society with wealth should help those who deserve the financial help. If those in need of help put in their effort, then why shouldn’t they be helped by those who don’t need it? In the Life of the Average Coal Miner, the harsh conditions that children faced is revealed. Children would work for hours in a crucial and dangerous environment and be rewarded with very little money that did not equal to the amount of work they put in. It is unfair to those who worked in the conditions in the Life of the Average Coal Miner.

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A hero is someone who does a meaningful deed, worthy of remembrance and selflessly. Andrew Carnegie was a wealthy man. After he sold his steel company in 1900, he devoted the rest of his life giving money to charity. Did Andrew Carnegie’s generosity make him a hero? Andrew Carnegie was not a hero.

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