By far the most profitable businessman during his age, Andrew Carnegie left his mark on industry, and profoundly impacted the expansion of business enterprise in America. Essentially, Carnegie rose from poverty to become one of the most influential, industrial tycoon’s in history by single-handedly building the American steel industry. During his time, Carnegie was known as being a prolific writer, but is most remembered for the entrepreneurial, and philanthropic career he created himself. By initiating numerous opportunities, consistently working hard, and being a fast learner, Carnegie was able to successfully build an empire of wealth not only for himself, but to greatly benefit America’s leading business industry we recognize today.…
In the years 1865 to 1900 the United States had flourished in their industry business, giving the era the rightful name of the Industrial Revolution. During this time period thousands of submitted patents and successful inventions connected the country, brought life to cities and boosted both the Northern and Southern economy post-Civil War. This revolution made the rich like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie richer while the middle class workers like the new immigrants remained in poverty with terrible working condition. This 35 year time frame was both prosperous for some while long and grueling for others.…
The wave of industrialism that we have been studying was often driven by a few great men known as industrialists. There can be no mistaking their motives: wealth. There is some debate, however, on the how history should portray these industrialists. Some feel that the powerful industrialists of the gilded age should be referred to as "robber barons." This view accentuates the negative. It portrays men like Rockefeller and Carnegie and cruel and ruthless businessmen who would stop at nothing to achieve great wealth. These "robber barons" were accused of exploiting workers and forcing horrible working conditions and unfair labor practices upon the laborer. Another view of the industrialist is that of "captain of industry." The term captain views these men as viewed ingenious and industrious leaders who transformed the American economy with their business skills. They were praised for their skills as well as for their philanthropy (charity). In reality the debate over robber barons and captains of industry mirrors views of industrialism itself. Just as there were both positives and negatives to industrialism there were positives and negatives to the leaders of industrialism…
As the American Civil War came to an end, an era of phenomenal economic growth was spurred by a second Industrial Revolution. It touched all geographic areas of America, evident in increased farm output and labor efficiency. The magnificent flow of goods generated could be efficiently transported by freshly lain transcontinental railroads made of Bessemer steel. Presiding over these late nineteenth century developments was a new class of extremely wealthy industrialists, the main beneficiaries of the era’s prosperity. They dominated substantial sectors of the new economy such as steel, oil, banking, and rail transportation. While these individuals created and donated outstanding wealth, they also engineered one of American history’s most corrupt and unequally heterogeneous time periods, dubbed the Gilded Age by Mark Twain. Such ambiguity blurs the legacy of these incredible few, who some call “robber barons” and other call “captains of industry”. However, neither polarity is completely accurate. The wealthiest Americans during the Gilded Age had both positive and negative effects on American society.…
Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835 in Dunfermline, Scotland. Andrews father was a handloom weaver (which is someone who threads yarn with interlacing yarn with another creating cloth) but that sadly came to an end as the steam powered looms came into play. Andrew learned what poverty meant as when his mother had to go to work to support their family. So this set his plan in action to become a great man. His mother moved their family out to pittsburgh in 1848 which in those times it was the iron manufacturing center of the country.…
The Gilded Age, as Mark Twain called it, took off in the 1870s to 1900s, growing America’s economy rapidly. Advancements in technology, industry, transportation, and financing made this age take off in the Industrialization of America. Prices for food, fuel, and living dropped increasingly as this age progressed (Doc. A). As America expanded, more job opportunities presented the citizens of urban life Forms of industry like the railroad, steel, and oil created opportunities that were never available before. After the civil war, industries and businesses grew quickly, influencing society and the way people went about life.…
Andrew Carnegie talks about how the upper class have a responsibility to reduce excess wealth by being charitable to highlight the issues of wealth inequality. He suggests that society can use the wealth from the upper class more responsibly than the state. In the article, he talks about his dislike of people using money irresponsibly on material things. He suggests when the upper class distribute their wealth, they should do it in a way the promote responsible spending. He talks about how there are two types of wealthy people.…
Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men of the 19th century. Born in Scotland and migrated to the United states, Carnegie was a true self made businessman. After coming to the States Carnegie got a job working for $1.20 a week, and from there he went on to create Carnegie Steel Corporation and making millions. Andrew Carnegie grew up in a family that believed in self learning so Carnegie new the importance of knowledge from a young age. This helped drive him to pursue his dreams and make money.…
Andrew Carnegie moved from Scotland to America, when he was thirteen, with his parents. The Carnegies lived in Pittsburg, which Carnegie described as very unpleasant. Carnegie is on record saying the smoke in the air from the nearby industrial buildings was unbearable. This was the beginning of one of the conflicts Carnegie faced throughout his whole life. Carnegie is disgusted with how the industrialized society affects the world he lives in, but he builds a legacy from the same means that he has such hatred for.…
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American who lived during the 19th century. Carnegie was an industrialist who played a pivotal role in the expansion of the American steel industry. Although he sometimes used methods that hurt the people to make profit , Carnegie contributed to America's growth as a nation economically because he connected different parts of America by building bridges and railroads and he helped cities to grow by building modern structures such as skyscrapers. Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland in the attic of a small house on November 25th, 1835.1 He was named after his grandfather, Andrew Carnegie, who was a popular man in the district, being the head of the lively ones of his day and the chief of their club, “Patiemuir College.”2 He grew up having little formal education, but his family held books and learning at a high level of importance.3 In 1848, when he was 13 years old, Carnegie and his family moved to the United States and made a home in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He worked in a factory and later worked his way through the telegraphing business. Carnegie’s ability to get his foot in the door of the railroad business enabled him to learn the tricks of the trade and also about business altogether. 4 With the experiences he acquired, he was well on his way to becoming one of the most successful business men in America of his time. Carnegie’s life was one full of many events, ups and downs, gains and losses, but it certainly can be said that it was a life well lived. 1Andrew Carnegie, Louise W. Carnegie, and John C. Van Dyke, Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920), 2. 2 Ibid.…
Andrew Carnegie Essay written by aliciareagan@neo.tamu.edu A man of Scotland, a distinguished citizen of the United States, and a philanthropist devoted to the betterment of the world around him, Andrew Carnegie became famous at the turn of the twentieth century and became a real life rags to riches story. Born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie entered the world in poverty. The son of a hand weaver, Carnegie received his only formal education during the short time between his birth and his move to the United States. When steam machinery for weaving came into use, Carnegie's father sold his looms and household goods, sailing to America with his wife and two sons. At this time, Andrew was twelve, and his brother, Thomas, was five. Arriving into New York on August 14, 1848, aboard the Wiscasset from Glasgow, the Carnegies wasted little time settling in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh, where relatives already existed and were there to provide help. Allegheny City provided Carnegie's first job, as a bobbin boy in a cotton factory, working for $1.20 a week. His father also worked there while his mother bound shoes at home, making a minuscule amount of money. Although the Carnegies lacked in money, they abounded in ideals and training for their children. At age 15, Carnegie became a telegraph messenger boy in Pittsburgh. He learned to send and decipher telegraphic messages and became a telegraph operator at the age of 17. Carnegie's next job was as a railroad clerk, working for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He worked his way up the ladder, through his dedication and honest desire to succeed, to become train dispatcher and then division manager. At this time, young Carnegie, age 24, had already made some small investments that laid the foundations of his what would be tremendous fortune. One of these investments was the purchase of stock in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company. In 1864, Carnegie entered the iron business, but…
industrialization, the need for the rich to get richer. So much was this influence of…
There are mixed opinions on Andrew Carnegie. What would make him a hero? Andrew Carnegie was a man who became a millionaire. He started working at 12 due to his poor family and slowly rose to riches. He grew up in Pittsburgh near family; he then later was the supervisor of Pennsylvania’s Western Division. In 1861 he was asked to help with troop transportation in D.C. He then moved to New York City, NY, and that was where he primarily live till he died. He was born in 1835, sailed to America in 1848, Helped in the war in 1861, wrote a letter to himself in 1868, in 1872 he met Bessemer (He gave Andrew the heads up on steel), 1883 after a success in steel acquired a coal mill, in 1890 he had many steel mills and many other industries were about to be acquired as well, in 1901 he sold all of his company’s holdings for $480,000,000 (His share was $225,000,000), He died in 1919 after much philanthropy. A hero changes from person to person, but to most he or she is a good person. To acquire something is to buy or get hold of. Philanthropy is like charity or volunteering. Andrew Carnegie should be considered a hero because he created jobs, accepted the competition in the world, and he donated lots of money to worthy charities.…
Successful businessmen and captains of industry such as Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and William Vanderbilt enjoyed astonishing profits. But while the rich and wealthy like Carnegie, Morgan, and Vanderbilt enjoyed this unprecedented rise in profits and spent lavishly on things such as diamonds, homes, and clothes, many of the poor wore rags and lived in crowded tenements. Many of the poor were immigrants with limited education, limited work skills, and limited knowledge of the English language. They often labored in hazardous factories on a rigid, regimented, and exhaustive work schedule.…
The gilded age refers to the expanding markets, swift urban growth, and the economic revolution. The worded gilded means something covered in gold. I feel that this word demonstrates the poverty and misfortune present in this era but is somewhat varnished with an enchanting glow of wealth and technologies that helped bring this industrial era to life. In this economic phase, among all the wealth was pure corruption.…