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How Did Andrew Carnegie Wrote 'Wealth'?

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1. Who wrote this document? (Don’t just list a name here – provide some background information on the person.) When and where did they write this document?
Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant who gained his enormous fortune through the steel industry, writes “Wealth”. Carnegie, known to have lived in New York (where most of the big businesses are today), wrote “Wealth” for the North American Review in 1889. Carnegie, himself, was born into poverty. He was not given his wealth, but worked hard to acquire it. It is honorable to mention that before he wrote about the problems between the social classes and what should be done about them, he experienced both sides.

2. What type of document is this? What was the meaning of the document …show more content…

Carnegie states that the problem with the administration of wealth is that it tears apart the rich and the poor in society, because the rich keep all their wealth to themselves; he says “…so that the ties of brotherhood may still bind together the rich and poor in harmonious relationship.” The law of competition, is that where no business man lets another man be more successful in their field, he states “…but the advantages of this law are also greater still, for it is to this law that we owe our wonderful material development, which brings improved conditions in its train.” “While the law may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race,…” There are three modes of surplus wealth disposal: Left to the families of the descendants, bequeathed for public purposes, and administered during their lives by its possessors. Carnegie claims that the ‘Duty of the Man of Wealth’ is the third mode of surplus disposal. The ‘Gospel of Wealth’ is “…obedience to which is destined some day to solve the problem of the Rich and the Poor, and to bring ‘”Peace on earth, among men Good-Will.’”
4. What does this document reveal about the particular society and period in question? What does the document reveal about the impact of big business on the U.S. in the 19th

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