"The golden gleam of the gilded surface hides the cheapness of the metal underneath.” This remark by Mark Twain, an renown social commentator, sums up the corruption that concerned many during the 19th century (“Exhibitions”). It is estimated that one percent of the population had possession of 88 percent of the nation’s assets (Brinkley 477). Many felt their rights as a citizen of a republic were endangered because so few people controlled such power and money (Brinkley 472). People were concerned that the robber barons were using that power to control the prices to their own personal benefit (Brinkley 476). This caused unrest among the populace (Brinkley 477). In contrast, the wealthy viewed industrialization very positively (Brinkley 472-473). Andrew Carnegie, one of these millionaires, had a singular view on wealth, and his philosophy both stemmed from and influenced his actions during his life. Carnegie’s view of rampant capitalism and the class separation it caused was radically different from most the population. In his book The Gospel of Wealth, he wrote, “much better this great irregularity than universal squalor” (Carnegie 2). He said industrialization was advantageous because it created superior products that enriched the lives of the impoverished as well as the wealthy …show more content…
Morgan, and became a philanthropist (“Andrew Carnegie Biography”). His decisions in how to go about his philanthropy were influenced by his own experiences. While Carnegie didn’t spend much time in a formal classroom, he learned to read and gained knowledge from books (“Andrew Carnegie Biography”). Because of this, Carnegie saw books as the key to helping communities.“Those worthy of assistance … seldom require assistance,” he said (Carnegie 17). With this in mind, he funded libraries, so people could advance themselves. His money built 1,689 public libraries, many of which are still open and helping communities today