Andrew Carnegie by Megan Souther

Andrew Carnegie

1523893 — 2016-01-17 19:01:34 UTC

Was Andrew Carnegie a robber baron?

Brief Biography

1523893 — 2016-01-17 19:04:31 UTC

Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist, was born on the 25th of November, 1835 in Scotland. When Carnegie and his family moved to the United States he was just thirteen years old. He then found jobs throughout the factories in Pennsylvania and also found some jobs in the railroad industry. Eventually Carnegie worked his way up and was promoted to superintendent , and that's where it all began. Carnegie then took over the steel industry and transformed the way of the railroads. In 1901, Carnegie sold his company and then donated 350 million dollars to charity. Along with this dramatic change this is how he began his philanthropic work.

Steel Industry

1523893 — 2016-01-17 19:44:48 UTC

Once Carnegie left the railroad in 1865, he spent the rest of his time focusing on the Carnegie Steel Company. One of the main reasons why Andrew Carnegie became so successful in his industry was because he played it smart. He did everything he could in order to maintain all aspects of owning the steel, from raw materials being extracted to railroads for transporting the goods; he owned it all. This was called vertical integration. By 1889, Andrew Carnegie's corporation was the largest and most influential of its kind worldwide.

Charity Work

1523893 — 2016-01-17 19:52:22 UTC

The majority of Carnegie's charity work occurred once he sold his company to J.P. Morgan. This act of charity is called The Gospel of Wealth and is also a book written by Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie donated a great deal of his money to libraries around the north. The Carnegie Institute of Technology, now known as Carnegie-Mellon University was established by Andrew Carnegie because his devotion to learning. Carnegie donated around 350 million dollars to charity.

Was Andrew Carnegie really a robber baron?

1523893 — 2016-01-17 19:52:50 UTC

I do not think that Andrew Carnegie was a robber baron at all considering that he came from a poor upbringing and made the best of what he could. He did have this massive success with the steel industry but he also gave back to people. Just because there was a conflict with the managers and workers at one time, it shouldn't reflect on all of Andrew Carnegie's achievements.

Homestead Strike of 1892

1523893 — 2016-01-17 20:00:27 UTC

The Homestead Strike of 1892 occurred once on of the managers attempted to lower wages of the employees and they reacted in a strike. This happened in Homestead, Pennsylvania at a Carnegie Steel plant. The conflict then turned violent between the managers and the workers. Although Carnegie was not there at the time of the strike, many still blame him for his managers' actions.

Works Cited

1523893 — 2016-01-17 20:00:50 UTC

http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-carnegie-9238756#steel-tycoon

https://www.carnegie.org/interactives/foundersstory/#!/

How did Andrew Carnegie obtain his wealth?

1523893 — 2016-01-17 20:08:18 UTC

Carnegie obtained his wealth throughout his successful steel company. It is said to be that Andrew Carnegie made about 25 million dollars a year. Once he sold his company to J.P. Morgan which then created The United States Steel Corporation. Carnegie obtained around 200 million at that time for the sale.