...and Social Responsibility Professor: Pete Macky Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie was arguably one of the richest men in America. From his companies emerged the steel to build the infrastructures such as railroads, bridges, automobiles, and ships that would build a nation in need of direction. He played a major role in the transformation into the Industrial Revolution, producing the steels to make machinery and transportation possible. Carnegie built his empire from cost control, low prices, low profits, and high volume to make himself the richest man in the world. Some people call him a villain, some people call him a hero? So, was Carnegie really a business hero in American history? Andrew Carnegie was born in a very poor family from Scotland. His first job was at the age of thirteen; he was working as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill. It was his second job in which he was able to learn many important structures of business. Working most of the day, he never had time to go to school like other kids. Therefore, he went to the library to study whenever he has time. He later was hired by Thomas A.Scott to work as a private secretary and a personal telegrapher. When the Civil War came, he was the right hand man of Scott, who was the supervisor of military transportation for the North back then. Working as Scott’s right hand man, Carnegie was able to gain experience in the railroad industry. After the Civil War, Carnegie took Scott’s former position as superintendent of the western...
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...The Man, the Story Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie came from humble begins, born in Scotland on 25th November 1835. He and his parents stayed in Scotland until 1848 when they went to America, due to the economic depression. He had his first job at the age of 12 in a cotton factory but his knew that he had to continue to get an education by going to night school. “At 14 Carnegie became a messenger boy in the local Pittsburgh Telegraph Office. His abilities were noticed by Thomas A. Scott, the superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. He made Carnegie his secretary. During the Civil War Scott was appointed assistant secretary of war and Carnegie went to Washington to work as his right-hand man. Carnegie's work included organizing the military telegraph system.” (Spartacus School Net, 2011). The work that he did with Mr. Scott was the stepping stone that he needed to start his climb to the top. Carnegie took over as the superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. “Carnegie shrewdly invested in several promising ventures including the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company and several small iron mills and factories. The most important of these was Keystone Bridge, a company which he owned a one-fifth share. Carnegie made regular visits to Britain where he observed the rapid developments in the iron industry. He was especially impressed by the converter invented by Henry Bessemer. Carnegie realized that steel would now replace iron for the...
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...Throughout history there is been many heroes such as Abraham Lincoln, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Junior. But, one disputed idea is that Andrew Carnegie, a self made billionaire and philanthropist, was a hero. Andrew Carnegie shouldn't be considered a hero because he lacked concern for others, reduced wages for his workers, and cause people to rely on his money by giving them wealth to build himself up. The first reason why Andrew Carnegie isn't a hero is because Carnegie reduced wages from his workers and then gave his money that he saved from cutting wages to large cities. Document D shows how Carnegie was double faced, he cut 20% of the wages in 1892, but then gave an estimated $25 million to the “library”. The next reason why Carnegie...
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...that it improved transportation. Railroad development dramatically grew, as trains were needed to move goods from the west to the east. This was Cornelius Vanderbilt’s area of expertise. John D Rockefeller was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, whereas Andrew Carnegie built a Steel Empire from the ground up. However all of these so-called, “geniuses” were robber barons, because they ridiculously rich through their ruthless business deals. The Gilded Age was exactly what the name means; having a pleasing or showy appearance that in all reality conceals something of little worth. Although everything seemed glitzy and glamorous on the outside that was not how it truly was. In 1890, 11 million of the nation’s 12 million families earned less the $1200 a year. From this, the average annual income was only $380, which was well below the poverty line. Many Americans and new immigrants crowded into urban areas, causing them to be teeming with crime and filth. Andrew Carnegie was the creator of the Steel Empire and is considered a Robber Baron because he rose to the top in a very unfair way. The other Robber Barons of this time were also unfair, but what they did was not as severe as to the degree of Carnegie. For example, Rockefeller used his wartime profits to finance his investment in Samuel Andrew’s oil refinery, which eventually led to him creating the Standard Oil Company that then led to his huge fortune. What Rockefeller did differently though was...
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...Response #1: “Gospel Of Wealth” Andrew Carnegie was a man who believed that any person with the right set of skills and education could become wealthy. Carnegie himself was a Scottish immigrant who dragged himself from rags, to one of the richest men in the United States. He thought that if a person was “rich,” then they were more admirable than others and, therefore, knew how to prosper in society. Carnegie states “Those worthy of assistance, except in rare cases, seldom require assistance.” Carnegie believed in a form of Darwinism, Social Darwinism. He consistently speaks in a paternalistic manner throughout his essay, portraying himself as a man of unspeakable wealth and playing to the fact that he is better than most because of it. Carnegie was not a man with little to say. He had strong feeling towards wealth and how it should be handled and this in evident in his writing of the, Gospel of Wealth. Carnegie proposes that there are three modes in which wealth can be distributed: Inheritance, Bequeathed for public uses, and managed by its possessor within his/her lifetime. He then goes into great detail on each mode, for example; inheritance is said to be the most injudicious method in the world. Carnegie’s idea that it is up to each generation to find their way in society plays into his feelings towards this mode. He further explains that inheritance is selfish and injustice not only to the inheritor but also to the mother and children. Carnegie suggest It is not the exception...
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...Andrew Carnegie: born in a one-room cottage in Scotland to a master weaver named William Carnegie who’d been put out of a job by the advent of the factory system, and his wife Margaret, who tended to the family and helped her brother in his cobbler business. He would grow to become the richest man America had ever known, and much of this he would credit to his early determined statement that “the wolf of poverty should be driven from our door someday” (viii). He extols the values of the necessity of work in the pursuit of wealth in his writing, yet is considered a great capital investor, who made much of his money from investments. He expresses that the value of wealth is in its application as a philanthropic device, but is known to have...
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...superior? No, what makes a hero heroic are three specific and important qualities. Andrew Carnegie was a famous philanthropy who donated much of his fortune to the community;, especially towards education. He earned his fortune by adopting the Bessemer process and building a steel mill in Pittsburgh. Andrew Carnegie was a hero because he possessed the three qualities in which makes one a hero: integrity, courage, and a concern for others. One reason Carnegie was a hero was that he showed integrity through his speech intended for the people. For example, in his speech, “Wealth”, he states, “...Men who leave vast sums in this way may fairly be thought men who would not have left it at all had they been able to take it with them…” When Carnegie says that men shouldn’t leave behind a lot of money he is showing that he believes what’s wrong and what’s right. Also, in his speech “Wealth”, he states, “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.” Carnegie is saying that men who die wealthy are a disgrace because it is what he believes in....
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...The men who allegedly built America had many privileges that are not allowed today because of many things that they did. Men like Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford did many things as a group that were unethical and unlawful, while creating ideas that did helped to further the business world, but the laws that were made to cover these laws and unethical things that they did been tightened down so much. Andrew Carnegie- Born on Nov. 25 in dunfermline, Scotland. He grew up poor and got a job at the age of 13 in a factory earning $1.20 a week. Andrew Carnegie’s mother lived with him until 1886 when she passed away. The following year he married Louise Whitfield(History.com). Andrew and Louise...
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...A true hero is someone that people look up to because they care so much for people and making the world a better place. They are not selfish, and just want to lend a helping hand. Andrew Carnegie was not like this until he earned millions of dollars and was able to retire without and worries.Carnegie, originally from Scotland was a savvy businessman and revolutionized the oil business, by using vertical integration. He bought many suppliers so he could control the materials, and transportation system. By 1901 Carnegie had created a monopoly and earned 225 million dollars. Although Andrew Carnegie made many charitable donations after his career in the oil business, he should not be considered a hero because he lacks the qualities that make up...
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...Andrew Carnegie is a captain of industry. A captain of industry was a business leader whose means of a massive personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. Andrew carnegie was a business leader when the industrialism decade was going on. His business was in stell. As a child Carnegie was born in scotland in 1835. Around when Carnegie was 12 years old him and his family traveled over to america in an area we call Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania today. Growing up Carnegie worked a lot. He started working at age 12. Carnegie was 15 years old he bought a oil well and started making money in the oil industry. At age 17 Carnegie became a private secretary to the president of the Pennsylvania railroads, soon after that Carnegie turned...
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...Batman, and Spiderman. Merriam-Webster defines a hero as “a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities”. Andrew Carnegie was admired for his many achievements, but just like everyone else he was human and made mistakes, but did his mistakes outweigh his achievements? Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland. After moving to the United States at the age of thirteen, he worked multiple railroad jobs. By 1889 he owned Carnegie Steel Corporation, and in March of 1901 he sold his business for $480 million. Carnegie then devoted himself to expanding his philanthropic work and eventually gave away more than $350 million. Despite his many achievements Andrew...
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...Andrew Carnegie: Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. As a young kid his parents believed in books and education. As a young adult he wanted to make money, so he got a job as a factory worker when his family moved to Pennsylvania in 1848. A year after that, he got a different job as a telegraph messenger. Wanting to go further he became a telegraph operator. He then got a job on the railroad as an assistant and telegrapher. Carnegie began to make many investments, one of these was oil. He then began becoming interested in steel. He soon opened up his own business called Carnegie steel company. He revolutionized the steel industry as we know it. He began building steel plants all over the country. Using new technology and new methods he was able to mass produce steel. He was so successful because he had everything he needed, raw material, ships, and railroads. http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie-9238756#early-life Carnegie treated his workers poorly. Since steel was cheap, that meant that his workers suffered. The workers had lower wages due to this. The steel was cheap so he couldn’t really pay his workers fairly. Also job security was an issue, people would be there for a little, then he would get new people. The workers never really knew when they would be laid off or if they had a job, no one really knew. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/sfeature/mf_flames.html When Carnegie...
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...Andrew Carnegie: A Tribute "My heart is in the work." -- Andrew Carnegie Neither a rags-to-riches biographical sketch nor a perfectly scanned-in image of Mr. Carnegie could serve as as great a personal tribute to the great Founder of Libraries, the earnest Champion of Peace and the resolute Captain of Industry as presenting his own words online--available electronically and immediately to the whole world through the World Wide Web. He would be tickled pink. Mr. Carnegie loved to promote his ideas and opinions in print. As one of America's most successful businessmen and, perhaps, the world's richest man, it can be assumed that he felt his opinions and advice were not without proven merit. In fact, his journalistic career had begun early when the young man found himself barred from free membership in Col. James Anderson's "Mechanics' and Apprentices' Library." In 1853 Carnegie took the matter to the pages of the Pittsburgh Dispatch; and, as Joseph Wall notes in his definitive biography of Andrew Carnegie, the victory the young man won through his letters to the editor left a lasting impression: It was also his first literary success, and for Andrew nothing else that he had known in the way of recognition by others had been quite as exhilarating as this experience of seeing his own words in print. It fed his vanity and at the same time increased his appetite for more such food. At that moment a journalistic ambition was born which he would spend the remainder of his life...
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...Andrew Carnegie became the richest man in the world in 1901. Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist that controlled the steel industry from 1873 until his retirement in 1901. (Andrew Carnegie Encyclopedia) Carnegie focused on becoming the leader of the steel industry and solely on that. He was the driving force behind the shift of the US’s economy from farming to industry. Carnegie also gave $350 million back to the public. (Andrew Carnegie Gale) Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland on November 25, 1835. He had one brother named Thomas. The family did not start rich. They were part of the lower class but were starting to work their way up the ladder. Carnegie dreamed that one day he would be rich and fulfill his promise...
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...Crystal Martin Summary of The Gospel of Andrew Carnegie After the Civil War, the United States’ economy found itself drastically changing. Many people believe that because of the North’s victory over the south, this inspired people to begin investing and building, along with influencing stocks and bonds. The people who did this were known as “robber barons”, which was a derogatory term to describe their greed. The rest of the economy was slowly realizing that these “robber barons” had much more power in the economy than many governments. In 1970 when the economy began its downfall into a depression, hundreds of thousands of people found themselves suddenly without a job. This led people to wonder if the robber barons would organize any types of charity to help out those less fortunate. Since these were the people who controlled all of the money, only time would tell if they would help out. Andrew Carnegie was the first robber baron to start donating, mostly to universities and libraries. Carnegie was not born wealthy, but slowly started off working as a messenger boy. He made such a strong impression that he was soon promoted to secretary, earning $35 a week. His superintendent at the railroad took a strong liking to him, often giving investment tips. He made good investments, which paid off big time. He learned how to produce steel and started a few plants, making more money than he had ever dreamed of. Carnegie’s goal was to earn $50,000 a year and anything else more...
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