Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish immigrant who came to the United States with his family at the age of 13. He had little formal education; however, his family believed in the importance of books. His family raised him in Allegheny PA where he worked himself up from being a factory worker, to telegrapher operator, to assistant telegrapher, to eventually superintendent of the railroad (Andrew). While he was employed at the railroad, Carnegie began dabbling with investments in oil where he brought in substantial income (Rags). Because of the huge success, he left the railroad industry to focus on other business ventures like the Keystone Bridge Company and Keystone Telegraph Company (installation of telegraph wiring in railroad tracks). The Keystone …show more content…
Louis, which was structurally held up by steel (one of the first instances where steel was used in a major project). Because of the huge success of steel, Carnegie began doing research and came across Bessmer’s steel plants in England, which eventually made Carnegie realize the potential of steel for commercial uses and opened his first steel plant in Pennsylvania in 1875 (Rags). Henry Clay Frick owned coke production which is a major component in steel production and thus Carnegie had a huge interest and even owned 50% of the share of the company. Carnegie also supported unions, the common man, and education which is apparent with “Gospel of Wealth” (a book Carnegie wrote stating the wealthy should be stewards of society), when he urged Frick to resolve strikes within his company, the establishment of Carnegie Institute of Technology, and his offering of $20 million for the Philippines to gain independence from America (Rags). Towards the end of his tycoon years, J.P. Morgan noticed Carnegie’s power in society and feared that Carnegie would affect his business; therefore he offered $480 million for Carnegie Steel. Carnegie accepted and with this money he established institutions that invested in higher education, teaching, world peace, and