Carnegie became one of the wealthiest men to ever live because of aggressive investment, constantly connecting with influential people, and a complete focus on accumulation of both wealth and knowledge. The American dream became more than a dream for Andrew Carnegie. He emigrated from Scotland in 1848, when he was 12 years old (Andrew Carnegie) with nothing to his name. His family was forced to leave their homes because Carnegie’s father’s business had failed. While he may have seen his father as a failure, he himself “Carnegie was gregarious, effervescent and a social mingler who loved to entertain.” (Fraser). Once in the land of opportunities he wasted no time in making a name, and a fortune, for himself. Carnegie’s search for a job ended …show more content…
The fact that he dropped out of school at the age of 12 to being work did not mean that he didn’t have a desire to know as much as he could about anything he could imagine. In his work “he brought intelligence and imagination and the sort of relentless vigor that allowed him to get a lot done” and because at times his own knowledge was limited he also funded scientific research (Frost). After retiring (at a very young age) Carnegie’s self proclaimed calling was to dedicate his time and money towards the continued education of himself and the public. This almost obsession with the accumulation of knowledge, combined with his need to seem more likeable in the public eye, led to him founding numerous public libraries to encourage the spread of knowledge to everyone (Henle). Some say that Andrew Carnegie was not the hero that he pretended to be. The immense fortune he had amassed was created not altogether honestly. The essay written by Carnegie himself titled The Gospel of Wealth argues that rich men are “‘trustees’ of their wealth” but have the responsibility to use money for the benefit of the public (Andrew Carnegie). This belief is evident in some of Carnegie’s more public acts; large donations towards schools were meant to show the tycoon in a more pleasant light. Ernsberger
Wealth is driven by commerce. Wealth in any form is the root of all needed things in the sense that currency is the simplification of ones own definition of wealth by being the common denominator that translates through the world. Translating wealth is most commonly left to the rich and philosophically inclined such as Adam Smith, Andrew Carnegie, and Andrew K. Gailbraith. Adam Smiths realism rhetoric stood that in order for a prosperous town to exist there first had to be an equally if not better country-side because Adam Smith believed that wealth was a measure of how much land one had and how much of it could be cultivated for the use of planting crops and manufacturing raw goods and how close it was to any town.
Greed – the extreme, selfish desire to acquire what is beyond average necessities. Whether greed applies to wealth or power, mankind is prone to exemplify the cupidity. Humans may never become truly content with what they are given, allowing them to desire superfluous objects. The development of greed, as shown in repeated history, eventually leads to the ruination of characters, one particular character being Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie, the leader of the steel industry in the 19th century, epitomized the concept of greed by yearning for supplementary profits within his company; this greed greatly affected the lives of many, including Carnegie himself.
“No Man of business drew more attention that the king of steel, Andrew Carnegie” (Background Essay). Andrew Carnegie grew up in Dunfermline, Scotland and immigrated along with his family to the United States in the 1800s. He worked his way up from being a poor immigrant to working with people such as Rockefellers and JP Morgan. He became one the most famous industrialist who led the expansion of the steel industry.
The United States began to enter a prosperous and increasing period after the civil war known as industrialization. Despite the fact that industrialization led the United States to wealth, it also led it to many social and economic problems during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this time, Upton Sinclair and Andrew Carnegie were the people who responded to the economic and social problems generated by industrialization. Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthy men in America and was very charitable, he impacted the United States with his steel to transform cities. During these economic and social problems generated by industrialization, he responded by providing money to fund charities.
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.
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.
Through Carnegie Corporation of New York, the innovative philanthropic foundation he established in 1911, his fortune has since supported everything from the discovery of insulin and the dismantling of nuclear weapons, to the creation of Pell Grants and Sesame Street. Andrew Carnegie’s birthplace, Dunfermline, was Scotland's historic medieval capital. Later famous for producing fine linen, the town fell on hard times when industrialism made home-based weaving obsolete, leaving workers such as Carnegie’s father, Will, hard pressed to support their families. Will and his father-in-law Thomas Morrison, a shoemaker and political reformer, joined the popular Chartist movement, which believed conditions for workers would improve if the masses were to take over the government from the landed gentry. When the movement failed in 1848, Will Carnegie and his wife, Margaret, sold their belongings to book passage to America for themselves and their sons, 13-year-old Thomas A. Scott, superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and Andrew Carnegie’s boss, initiated the future millionaire’s first investment when he alerted Carnegie to the impending sale of ten shares in the Adams Express Company.
Andrew Carnegie was a major capitalist of the 19th century. He became a major capitalist in the steel industry. He attained much of his wealth because he practically created the steel industry. Starting from the bottom and working is way to the top Andrew Carnegie became one of the richest men during his time. Starting at earning a dollar and twenty cents a week.
Andrew Carnegie was one of the most famous and wealthiest American industrialist during the Industrial Age. He was a robber baron who made a fortune in the steel industry and applied vertical integration to his business. Carnegie contradicted his views as a robber baron because he supported, but destroyed many unions. This made many of his views unethical.
He was hired to manage the railroad up to a supervisor to the age of 24 making $8.00 a week, and he made $1,500 a year. Andrew Carnegie was a very wealthy man for a lot of different reasons. He was making more than an average 24 year old. What made Carnegie wealthy was in his steel industry. Carnegie was selling his steel in his own company.
A captain of industry can be defined as ¨a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way.” Andrew Carnegie was an ideal representation of a captain of industry, he was born poor, yet he rose the ranks and became a successful businessman who dedicated his fortune to good causes. Due to his success and innovation in the steel industry and his benevolent donations, Andrew Carnegie was a prosperous businessman who benefited lives across America. Andrew Carnegie furthered the steel industry and brought forward new innovations that advanced technology and market shares for generations. Not only did Carnegie develop technologies, he helped forge new business models.
Topic: Should Andrew Carnegie be described as a “captain of industry” or a “robber baron”? Abstract: Nowadays, there still exists lots of controversial comments towards Andrew Carnegie. Some of them hold the view that Andrew Carnegie should be described as a captain of industry while others contend that he was only a robber baron. As far as I am concerned, Andrew Carnegie, known as the King of Steel, built the steel industry in the United States, and in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America.
During the Industrial Revolution big businesses took places of small workshops, increasing to quantity but not quality. This made many people lose their jobs, and now there was only one place to work the factories. Ahead of these factories were big business owners, some born into money others worked their way up to it like Andrew Carnegie. Work at these factories became unsafe and the pay was bad, they could only blame one person and that was the owners.
He basically a standard robber baron for the time. The only reason that some people think he was a hero was because he would trick the public or every once in awhile do something good. Andrew Carnegie was a man that cared more about money then other people. This is just one of the many reasons that makes Andrew Carnegie not a
He grew up in poverty. His father's name was William Carnegie, William worked as a weaver and was the only source of income for the family. Carnegie’s mother's name was Margaret Morrison. Carnegie’s father died in 1855, after his death Carnegie realized that he would have to take care of the family. Carnegie gotta education and by the age 18 Carnegie was a secretary for Thomas A. Scott, the superintendent of the western division for the Pennsylvania Railroad.