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Andrew Carnegie

In: English and Literature

Submitted By crystalxoox
Words 329
Pages 2
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, he could give away. Eventually another robber baron bought him company out, but this still left Carnegie with more money than he knew what to do with. The first great spending of his fortune was creating a Carnegie Institute here in Pittsburgh. He also created institutions in Scotland and D.C. Carnegie donated much money to education, and he helped start the trend of donating extra money, that the wealthy did not previously do.

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