Essay: Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a  Scottish American industrialist who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century, and built a leadership role as a philanthropist for the United States and the British Empire. Carnegie started a monopoly and basically owned the American steel industry in every aspect. He was responsible for thousands of jobs and opportunities in early America. So many people relied on him for a stable job in the industry, this made him extremely popular and prominent during that time.
Carnegie was Born into a family living in half of a room in a weaver’s cottage in Scotland on November 25th, 1835. Carnegie’s father was not content with living in poverty for the rest of his life so he learned to weave damask and made enough money for the Carnegie’s voyage to America for greater opportunity. When Andrew Carnegie was 13 his family moved to Allegheny, Pennsylvania. After the industrialization phase that rendered him jobless and in relentless poverty. Carnegie started to work in cotton factories but did not continue for long and ended up making linens at home. He eventually got a job as a “bobbin boy” in a textile mill paying $1.20 a week for 72 hours of work. All of this shows Carnegies intense desire for a better life, nothing was more important to him than success and he would achieve it with this desire.
After Carnegie lost his father in 1855, he realized the importance of education. He quit his job at the cotton factories and diverted towards reading, theater and music. Carnegie also rendered services to the military telegraph during the Civil War and finally took the job the superintendent of Pennsylvania Railroad at the age of eighteen. His contribution was seen in laying down railway lines in Washington D.C. His association with Thomas Scott proved quite beneficial. The Railroad business being the top rated business in America in those days, helped Carnegie in honing his managerial skills.
Carnegie had an immense attention for detail. After working in a textile mill for two years he eventually got a better job for $2.50 a week working as a telegraph delivery boy for the Ohio Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He realized that he could increase his chances for success by leaning about business so he did just that. He paid such close attention to the dots and dashes of the telegraph so that he could memorize messages without taking time to write them down, saving time, and helping him make better connections with the people who could give him better work and access to money to start up his first companies.
Next Carnegie was a risk taker. He found a new job as a secretary and telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for a wage of $4.00 a week. Railroads were one of the fastest growing industries in the United States and Carnegie saw an opportunity to invest with Thomas Scott, Scott gave Carnegie $500 to invest in a company called Adams Express. Carnegie had to persuade his mother to take out a $500 mortgage against their $700 home to secure the investment and because of this Carnegie was able too find more and more opportunities to invest in railroads and make more money.
Carnegie began to face a number of problems by the 1890s. Government regulation, which had never been an issue, was being taken more seriously as reformers actively tried to curtail the excesses of businessmen known as robber barons. And the union which represented workers at the Homestead Mill went on strike in 1892. On July 6, 1892, while Carnegie was in Scotland, Pinkerton guards on barges attempted to take over the steel mill at Homestead.The striking workers were prepared for the attack by the Pinkertons, and a bloody confrontation resulted in the death of strikers and Pinkertons. Eventually an armed militia had to take over the plant. Carnegie was informed by transatlantic cable of the events in Homestead. But he made no statement and did not get involved. He would later be criticized for his silence, and he later expressed regrets for his inaction. His opinions on unions, however, never changed. He fought against organized labor and was able to keep unions out of his plants during his lifetime. As the 1890s continued, Carnegie faced competition in business, and he found himself being squeezed by tactics similar to those he had employed years earlier.
Carnegie was also very lucky. Carnegie invested $40,000 in Story Farm on Oil Creek in Venango County, Pennsylvania. Luckily his driller struck oil, and within twelve months carnage had become a millionaire collecting over $1 million in royalties and other payments. Because of this overnight success he was able to buy his his first steel mill at a time when demand for the metal for making railroad cars and railroad tracks was thriving. His empire grew until he became one of the wealthiest people in America second to the one and only Rockefeller.
Overall Carnegie was an amazing person with huge potential. He went from rags to riches and proved to everyone that the American Dream was truly possible. He went on to make millions and became one of Americas greatest Philanthropists. He gave money to towns and cities to build more than 2,000 public libraries. He also gave $125 million to a foundation called the Carnegie Corporation to aid colleges and other schools. He founded the Carnegie Institution to fund scientific research and established a pension fund for teachers with a $10 million donation. In total Carnegie gave up $350 million in his philanthropy.