How Did Andrew Carnegie Impact The Economy

1309 Words6 Pages

Andrew Carnegie’s Impact on The U.S. Economy and Its Citizens The actions of the fast-growing industrialists greatly impacted the U.S. economy and its citizens. With industrialists like Andrew Carnegie using monopolistic tactics to beat all other competitors in their industries, people are doing anything to stay on top. That included lowering the quality of life for U.S. citizens by paying them lower wages for longer hours. Most industrialists focused more on how they could make a quick dollar than worrying about who was affected by their choices. On the other hand, some could say that the industrialists bettered the economy by expanding many different industries in America and bringing in more income and customers for the U.S. However, I believe that in the end, …show more content…

People believed that even the lowest of workers deserved respect and the right amount of money for their work. Next, in the 1892 political cartoon “Forty-Millionaire Carnegie in his Great Double Role” by David P. Demarest, Carnegie is portrayed as being two-faced. The caption in the cartoon states, “Forty-Millionaire Carnegie in his great double role. As the tight-fisted employer he reduces wages so that he may play philanthropist and give away libraries, etc” (Demarest). In the cartoon, he is seen lowering the pay for his workers, while his other face can be seen giving out money and libraries. Andrew Carnegie spent his life accumulating money by treating his workers poorly, and he does not really share it with others, especially the poor. Then, as he gets older, he starts telling people that they should be giving their money away to the less fortunate, something he has not been doing until recently. Seeing his two personas side-by-side, as shown in the cartoon, helps you see what Carnegie truly acted