Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel Of Wealth

A self-made millionaire that started from rock bottom, Andrew Carnegie altered and helped to construct how America is today. He was able to achieve this through his ownership of the Carnegie Steel Company, and his generosity that is described within his book, The Gospel Of Wealth, that discussed his views on how the wealthy had an obligation to give back to society. Carnegie’s philanthropy work was able to highlight his love for education by giving money for establishments of Libraries and foundations.
Early life for Carnegie was not what most people expected it to be for a millionaire. Andrew Carnegie was not born in a wealthy family, yet he was able to be deemed the title of one the richest men alive. Born on November 25, 1835 as a boy from
Scotland. Son of Will Carnegie and Margaret Carnegie, and brother to Tom Carnegie. The family did not make a lot of money but just enough for stable living conditions.
Andrew Carnegie’s journey would start when industrialism grew in the hometown of the family. This would end up affecting the family’s income that would lead the family to move. The family took action and sold most of their belongings to start a new life in America. The trip included a ship that would bring them to New York City, they would then take a steamboat to Pennsylvania. After the long painstaking trip, the family was satisfied with living in America and would settle in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.
Andrew Carnegie’s first amounts of income were so low they were incomparable to what he would end up making. He worked as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill, he carried bobbins, a cylinder or cone holding thread, yarn, or wire, used especially in weaving, sewing machine, and lacemaking, to the workers at the looms, an apparatus for making fabric by weaving yarn or thread. Later on, Andrew Carnegie was hired as a messenger for a local telegraph company. While being a messenger he would end up teaching himself how to use the equipment that would later promote him to a telegraph operator. With the skills he picked up he was able to obtain a job with the Pennsylvania Railroad, a railway that would transport tons of people and tons of supplies. He was soon promoted to become a superintendent at the rail road.
Andrew Carnegie then became interested in investments and Thomas A.
Scott, Andrew’s boss at the time, informed and brought Andrew’s attention to the sale of ten shares in the Adams Express Company. This would be the first investment Andrew would make. Andrew was able to buy the stocks due to the mortgage of his family’s house. The five hundred dollars used for the shares, was money well spent, Andrew is just getting to see the start of the increasing amount of money that is flowing from these investments. Later Andrew Carnegie was approached by Theodore Woodruff that would share his ideas to Andrew about sleeping cars on railways. Theodore offered Carnegie a share in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company, Andrew accepted the offer and the company became successful. Later on, Andrew Andrew invested in oil, the Keystone Bridge Company, a company that would offer services of constructing bridges for railways and roads, racking up lots of profit. The Keystone bridge company would contribute to Fairground Steel Bridge, Kansas City Bridge, Keystone Bridge, and many more. This would help with transportation and accessibility of people and supplies that would help benefit the community.
The investments Carnegie made, would lead to the ownership of Carnegie Steel Company. The road to Carnegie Steel Company would start with the investments he had made. He also bought The Homestead Steel Works, which would later develop into Carnegie Steel Company. This would bring Andrew Carnegie tons of money into his
pocket.
Carnegie Steel company would be beneficial to America. The company would provide many jobs to unemployed workers that would be beneficial to the economy. The jobs the company provided could have had a positive effect on the income of families. The company would help with the mass production steel. Steel was used to create bridges, buildings, railroads, and tools. The bridges and railroads made from the steel would help with the overall transportation of Americans and supplies. The buildings made from the steel would help create homes for people and increase the size of cities. The steel was also used to replace weaker metals in construction such as beams. Although Carnegie Steel Company was not perfect, it had downfalls. Workers would go on strike against the long intensive labor hours and cuts in the payments. The strike ended in blood shed of innocent workers and this did not look good for the company. The company would end when it is sold to JPMorgan for, four hundred eighty million dollars.
Toward the end of Carnegie's life, he became devoted in being a Philanthropist. He saw that giving back to the society was the right thing to do with his wealth. Carnegie spent his earnings on constructing free public libraries. He felt as if to give feature generations the luxury of free libraries. Carnegie saw that not everyone was fortunate enough to access a free library and knew he was very fortunate to have access to one when he was younger. His generosity earned him the title of Patron Saint of Libraries. Carnegie would have later established the Carnegie Corporation of New York. the Corporation had a purpose to create advances in knowledge and understanding of the world. They were able to achieve this through the creation of aid for Colleges and other schools. This would make is easier for students to obtain a higher education and studies. Carnegie also established the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace was a group of people that would help create new ideas on foreign policy. Carnegie was able to achieve a lot during his phase of philanthropy. Carnegie believed in being a philanthropist so much he also wrote a book, The Gospel of Wealth. It showed his thoughts and insight on how the wealthy had an obligation to society to help and support the unfortunate and needy. The Gospel of Wealth would changes how and what a philanthropist means to be. It gave people reasons on why they should give, especially the wealthy, to the community. Its main points highlighted how giving back helps everyone involved and encourages people to take on this mindset. The book shows how passionate and dedicated Carnegie was toward being a Philanthropist.
In conclusion, Carnegie was a man that shaped the future of America. He worked hard and built his name from nothing. Carnegie was able to make strategic decisions that overall led to his success, but he never got greedy or never lost sight of his values. Carnegie was able to help support the future generations and gave blessings toward overall education for individuals. Carnegie was able to bring mass amounts of steel into the industrial revolution and was able to support other innovations through stocks. He was able to set up the next generations through all the aids given to students for school. He also helped with the efficiency of transportation of people and supplies. Andrew Carnegie, a man that started from the bottom all the way up.