Was Andrew Carnegie A Hero?

Would you consider someone who took from the people, who are the backbone of his company, and gave what he took, away, a hero? Andrew Carnegie is a self made billionaire who led the industrial revolution. He made steel cheaper and more available. Although he may have had a great impact in history, the path he took to achieve these great feats was anything but heroic. A hero is someone who puts themselves in harm’s way to protect or enhance someone else’s way of life. In my opinion, Andrew Carnegie was not a hero.

Andrew Carnegie was not a hero because of his treatment of workers. He gave them below minimum wage for dangerous work. As if that wasn’t enough, he cut their wages even shorter to fill his pockets even more. He did not give his
employees benefits, sick days, or paid leave if an employee was injured, which occurred often. This evidence shows that he didn’t care about his employees, rather the size of his wallet.

Andrew Carnegie was not a hero because he played a double role. Carnegie cut his employees wages below minimum wage to fill his pockets. With this extra money, he distributed it to the community. He had given money to build libraries, built schools and colleges, and started teacher associations. You might ask, “well what’s wrong with that? He’s giving back to the community.” You would be right except with all the money Carnegie made, he could’ve gave away the same amount of money even if he didn’t cut his employees wages, and still have enough to last a lifetime. He wanted to look good in the public’s eye while still increasing his bank account more and more each day by taking more from his employees. This evidence shows that he was attention and money hungry.

In conclusion, I think Andrew Carnegie wasn’t a hero because of his treatment of workers and his double role he played in the community. He wanted to look good to the public but still wanted fortunes.