Andrew Carnegie Surplus Wealth Summary

Robber barons, specifically Andrew Carnegie, an industrialist and John D. Rockefeller, a philanthropist, were the chosen, elite members of society according to the doctrine of Social Darwinism. Darwinism is when evolution occurs and the strongest organisms of an ecosystem survive and reproduce to outnumber the weaker, less fit organisms of an ecosystem. Similarly Social Darwinism follows the same concept, but in a capitalist sense of thought. Those who were able to exploit the Gilded Age’s laissez faire economy to their own benefit, like the robber barons Andrew Carnegie of Carnegie Steel and J. D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil, were the fittest members of society because they were able to survive in the grueling and ruthless free economy. By usurping all of the fresh yet unfit immigrants that were flowing into the States due to the rise of urbanization, these two men integrated these easily-manipulated people into their factories to augment their profits. Even further, these robber barons would often ruthlessly eradicate competition by buying out other companies to establish monopolies through the horizontal and vertical integration of production and product.

During the late nineteenth century, a form of Social Darwinism emerged called the Gospel of Wealth also known as the Success Gospel. Social Darwinism is “Herbert Spencer’s adaptation of Charles Darwin’s concepts of natural selection and “survival of the fittest” as it applies to human society” (Nash p. 417). Social Darwinists believed that the social order was the product of the natural selection of the individuals that were best suited for the existing living conditions. These individuals were white, Anglo-Saxon, wealthy men. This theory, Social Darwinism, was applied to the monopolistic efforts of businessmen as John D. Rockefeller, Jr. so eloquently stated: “The growth of a large business is merely the survival of the fittest” (Nash p. 417). The Gospel of Wealth based on Social Darwinism is the notion that the massive wealth held by prosperous businessmen was for the social benefit of everyone. The advocates of the Gospel of Wealth such as Andrew Carnegie, Russell Conwell, and Horatio Alger linked wealth with a sense of heightened responsibility as those with more wealth had an equally great obligation to society.

In this text, he makes a valid argument as to why the rich should administer their own wealth unto those with less fortune. He begins his argument by explaining how 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 wants to show how much society has progressed throughout the last few hundred years. Then, he begins his real

Thesis : After the Civil War, America was in a post-war boom. During the 1870-1890, big business moguls, such as Rockefeller and Carnegie, create huge corporations which not only affected the economy, but also affected the political realm of America. While many may assume that during the rise of these big business helped to change the economy and politics,  the real focus was on the responses formed by society, such as labor unions, increase public outcry, and political opposition groups that helped to change society.

For instance, Carnegie presented his library named Carnegie Library, he considers this “the best kind of philanthropy” (Ernsberger). By this he indicates the correct way a wealthy individual should live,is by giving back to the community. On the contrary, Richard argues this as negative affect to the company due to the loss of income. Richard believes that Carnegie shouldn’t have spent his money on helping the community instead, he should have continued to invest it on the steel industry. Overall, Richard views Carnegie as “little capitalist who urged presidents to do right things in Philippines, Panama and international diplomacy [but] had never done the right or moral thing as a businessman,” (Ernsberger). Richard displays this by including Carnegies expenses such as “$10 million to found the Carnegie Endowment for Peace” furthermore demonstrating that Carnegie did not spend his money on the business. However, Harold explains that Carnegies investments on developing the community is his way of repaying the community for their contribution to his

Carnegie reduced the wages of working employees in his steel company (document D). But as a business man he needed to do the most conventional thing to win more money. The more money he won the more he gave to the poor. If working employees don’t get enough pay they are considered poor so the employees still benefit for pay and donated things from Carnegie. Plus people that were employees to Carnegie’s industry of steel at least had a job so they can survive longer. If you were in Carnegies shoes wouldn’t you do the same? Andrew Carnegie was just being a entrepreneur.

The late 19th century was full of growth, production, and business. People were craving power and seemed to achieve this through any means necessary. Consequently, a new business elite formed consisting of the richest men alive. The way in which these individuals acquired all their profits is something very contradictory even over one-hundred years later. Some historians characterize these businessmen as “robber barons” who used extreme methods to control and concentrate wealth and power, and being supported by multiple sources, this statement is justified but only to some extent.

First, Carnegie and Addams’ desire to improve society is partly self-serving. For Carnegie, improving society is the role of the wealthy man who, “animated by Christ’s spirit” (“Wealth”), can administer wealth for the community better than it could have for itself (“Wealth”). Carnegie’s ostentatious vanity indicates that he reaps pride from his attempt at improving society, which serves the explicit goal of “dignify[ing] his own life” (“Wealth”).

In Carnegie’s “The Gospel of Wealth,” he argues that the affluent have a unique responsibility to help others by aiding the lower class. He does not, however, promote simply handing money to the poor. In a way, the wealthy should act paternally. He believes that it is the responsibility of the wealthy to provide

Henry George’s was a critic of big business and since there we social problems he blames it on a few monopolists to grow wealthy as a result of rising land values. He proposed a single tax on land to replace taxes which would be returned to in addition to the people. If they propose this tax it would destroy monopolies, distribute wealth, and it would eliminate poverty. Robber barons are the reason why people were being driven into poverty (DOC 1). The result of this was how the Northern capitalists led the South away from agriculture and economic dependence, and how they used their wealth to further grow the American industry. 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. Part of a captain of industries duty were to make sure that whatever he does whether it is “trust funds in which he administered”, it would have to benefit the community (DOC 2). Andrew Carnegie believed in Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism is the belief of the “survival of the fittest.” You are rich because God is rewarding and you are poor because you aren’t working hard

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. Carnegie is not a hero because he took money, only gave to other wealthy recipients, and contributed largely to his own.

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. By building public institutions the poor have better chances of finding assistance and the recourses the need to better their life in the long run. For example if you give a poor man 100 dollars he is going to waste that money

In his speech “Every Man a king” senator Huey Long suggested to reconstruct the wealth in America. He describes the current economic crisis as devastating because 10 people own about 85% of America’s wealth when the rest of the population does not have anything. Some even starve to death. The purpose of his speech is to create the effect of urgency. He wanted to limit the wealth one’s can have. So, no one would be too rich nor too poor. People should not be allowed to own more than $600 million. He suggested to limit the average income of $15,000 to every family. He also wanted to restructure the way taxes were being paid. His conception was the more money you get more your federal tax you pay. And the tax’s money should help fund: education,

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”. Through Social Darwinism, he hoped to dispose of the problems of: the Darwinian intellectual revolution, Eugenies, and the hierarchy of race. However his system was inherently flawed because Carnegie built this system on racism and warmongering. This system was built to rationalize why the fittest class, or the white Anglo-saxon men, were always on top.

As outlined in chapter 10 of the course text, inequality in housing and wealth is a major problem. The United States is described to be the most unequal countries in the western hemisphere. But with the inequalities when it comes to wealth, the United States is one of the richest countries in the world. Wealth is the sum total of a person’s assets. These assets include, cash in the bank and value of all properties, not only land but houses, cars, stocks, and bonds, and retirements savings. Wealth is one of the factors why residential segregation is an increasing problem.