Was Andrew Carnegie A Hero?

The Philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie: Did it make him a hero?

A person is classified as a hero through his or her actions. The actions of Andrew Carnegie prove that he is a hero. Andrew Carnegie was a hero through his hard work, valued education, and showed concern for others.

Andrew Carnegie was a wealthy man but he was also humble. Andrew Carnegie progressively became wealthy which is shown in document A of his two houses. The first house was the house that Carnegie grew up in while the second house is Carnegie’s castle that he purchased when he got older. Next to the house he grew up in, the caption states, “Carnegie and his family of four lived in an attic room above his father’s shop”(125). Carnegie came from humble beginnings and worked

Joseph Frazier Wall created a chart of Carnegie’s philanthropy which showed him providing “$50,365,000 for the construction of 2811 free public libraries” along with other gifts (129). Wall showed how Carnegie valued education. Not all people liked receiving the gifts that Carnegie gave to the community. William Jewett Tucker stated, “It is better for any community to advance more slowly than to gain altogether by gifts rather than, in large part, by earnings...but if the method becomes the accepted method, to be accepted and relied upon, the decline of self-respect has begun” (133). Tucker thought that the more gifts Carnegie gave the more the poor would rely on him for things and Tucker felt that the poor should earn what they receive. Tucker wanted the wealthy to give those in need the ability to help themselves. He also believed that those with wealth should have tried to fix real issues regarding the society rather than giving gifts. Carnegie was dealing with the issue of education in his society by providing the funds necessary to help build libraries. Libraries provided his community the research and knowledge they needed to grow as a community together. Carnegie is a hero because he brought the value of knowledge to his