Andrew Carnegie's Life During The Progressive Era

Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in America but his wealth didn’t come without hard work and dedication. Carnegie was born in “Dunfermline, Scotland on November 25, 1835” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle, the invention of the weaving machine unfortunately pushed Carnegie’s family in to poverty “In 1848, Carnegie’s family left Scotland and moved to Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, where his father and eventually him worked in a cotton factory” (Tyle). After leaving the cotton factory “Carnegie became a messenger boy for the Pittsburgh telegraph office and eventually made his way up to telegraph operator” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle “Thomas A. Scott, the superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, made Carnegie his secretary at the age of eighteen.” Later, Carnegie took over Scott’s position of the railroad. Furthermore Carnegie “began to see that steel was going to replace iron and by 1873 he organized a steel rail company” (Tyle). According to Laura B. Tyle he continued to build his company when he “cut prices, drove out competitors,

As young as 33, Carnegie was pulling in an annual income of $50,000 a year, a huge amount at that time, and this was enough for him. Carnegie was a firm believer that anyone could make it to the top, and that it was the wealthys’ duty to help the poor work towards a more comfortable life. Carnegie said that “the man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” This is a greedy, unselfish philosophy that a robber baron could not conceive.

The progressive Era was times in History were local state and federal government took a leap forward in power and activism. In addition, the progressive era, was a time of development of new reforms and changes for America. Progressivism handles a wide range of problems and struggle for America. Such problems were created by unstructed industrialization, urbanization and immigration. As well as, the unfavorable distribution of power and wealth. Progressives believed strongly that problems such as these needed immediate action. Progressives existed in churches, organized labor, local political life, organizations and progressives of high education. Progressives wanted to make America better through inniatives, arranged action, idealism and social scientific research. Progressive had a tendency to expect the best possible outcome of situations. By, the 1920’s, progressives put in effect, changes of all aspects of society and government. Nevertheless, progressives had unhonorable qualities as well. They were biased of class and prejudiced against races.

Andrew Carnegie grew up in Dunfermline, Scotland and immigrated along with his family to the United States in the late 1800s. He worked his way up from being a poor Irish immigrant to become one of the most famous industrialists that helped transform the U.S steel industry in the late 19th century. Andrew Carnegie was a hero in many ways. One reason why Andrew Carnegie was a hero was because of his influences on renovating the American steel industry which helped create the U.S a world power. Secondly, Andrew Carnegie was a hero is because he helped create jobs that employed many Americans. Finally, Carnegie was a hero is because he was one of the most influential philanthropists.

Human nature dictates the necessity of being successful and happy, and to find internal contentment, but what truly defines the good life? Everyone makes decisions about the person they want to be and what is most important to them: Which do you value more, your wealth or your friendships? Do you want to be famous or truly loved? Do you care what people think or are you just trying to please yourself? I think the good life is a combination of everything, and is a fine line that everyone must walk if they want to be truly content.

Perhaps the most controversial of Andrew Carnegie’s qualities is his belief in Social Darwinism. The English philosopher Herbert Spencer convinced Carnegie that it wasn’t bad to be successful. It was “survival of the fittest” in the business world and there was no reason for Andrew Carnegie to feel guilty for obtaining more wealth. Throughout Carnegie’s life, he displayed his firm belief in the certainty of competition. In fact, he was afraid of competition and did all he could to obstruct or completely remove it when it came to his

The Progressive Era was a time period between the years 1900-1920 and it marked a time in American history in which society was bursting with enthusiasm to improve life in the industrial age by making political and social changes through government action that ultimately led to a higher quality of life for American citizens. Progressives were known for their beliefs in limiting the power of big business, strengthening the power of the states, and were advocators against corruption and social injustice. These progressive reformers as well as the Federal Government successfully managed to improve the quality of life and establish a precedent for a move active government, although neither was completely successful in solving significant

Born of the populist movement, the progressive era was a period in the United States during the late 1890’s to early 1920’s. What began as a social reform effort developed into a full on political movement. The “Progressive’s”, as they were called, sought to purify the government of corruption, push for modernization, and pushed the legislative agenda to focus more on healthier families, better education, female suffrage, labor issues and finally, prohibition. The progressives thought that the issues of poverty, racism and classism could best be addressed by providing citizens with greater access to educational opportunities, safer living environments, and even better working conditions. They also sought to “Americanize” the Native American’s and immigrants communities in an effort to unite the country.

The Progressive Era was a term used to describe a time period that had numerous reforms to correct the problems of the country. The origins of this time period was created from the lower class aiming to, “eliminate corruption in government, regulate business practices, address health hazards, and improve working conditions.” Not only did the lower class support reform, but middle class workers too because they were in competition with immigrants for jobs or they were women struggling for the same rights that men had. Another reform Progressives wanted was the right to a direct say in the primaries of elections so the public had more control within government. With more control in the government, this would allow the power of big corporation to be limited and prevent future problems that the middle and lower classes could endure. These goals the reformers had in the Progressive Era, led to a plethora of movements and actions in

A lost cause, an undesirable environment to live in, and a disaster. One could describe the United States of America in these unfavorable ways before the Progressive Era occurred in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Working conditions improved, and the living conditions were at an all time high when the reforms took place. During the progressive era, people worked hard labor in awful working conditions, and got paid almost nothing. The working America would then leave work and go to a place that did not resemble what was thought of as a home. When the reforms of the Progressive Era began to emerge, these people’s everyday lifestyle began to improve. Throughout the progressive era, people who fought for new reforms and human rights called progressives worked hard to pull together the successful reforms to improve the conditions that people had to face. Some of the reforms that took place to assist the conditions were social reforms.

1. During Carnegie’s experience as an “apprentice manager” at the Pennsylvania Railroad, he gained many skills while being a manager. He learned about the economic principles as he got familiar with the finances and accounting, and paved strong personal relationships, such as Thomas A. Scott, that taught him how to become a successful manager, capitalist, and entrepreneur. Through learning about accounting, Carnegie was able to pinpoint how to make decisions such as increasing or decreasing rates and making or postponing repairs. There was also another important concept he learned, the formula for profitable operation of a capital intensive business. The formula was to learn the costs of what is being made and reduce it as much as possible, then once that price is figured out you lower prices to attract a larger volume of commerce. All these lessons lead him to finding ways at saving the

The Progressive Era changed the face of America by Many ways. it also changed by impacting today's society from living better than worst. Many things ocurred during this time , yet many things were different from how they used to be by how they are now.

George F. Will once said, “The United States is a successful nation that is constantly susceptible to melancholy because things are not perfect.” During the 1880’s to the 1920’s this statement seemed to be true about America but this sadness was not seen from the outside. The Progressive Era brought out these issues and made everyone aware of them. This era was a period in the United States that consisted of social activism and political reforms. The importance of this era was the passing of labor laws, anti-trust laws, unionization for important industries and the introduction of four new amendments in the constitution.

Andrew Carnegie was a firm believer in idea of individualism. That everyman must work and rise on his own ambition alone, that each man for themselves. In other word, he did not believe in the communist thought of working

The Progressive Era, a period of social activism and political reform in the United States, lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressivism, the term applied to a variety of responses to the economic and social problems. During the end of the 1800s the U.S. became one of the world’s top industrial producers. The country was moving on to technological advancements, transportation revolutions, wealth creation, and manufacturing efficiency. The U.S. was putting its dark past with the Civil War behind and move on but down the road many Americans where left behind. The amount of poor people in the country grew and as they grew they were creating a new urban underclass, thrust into slums with little hope of improvement. While the poor people were left behind industrial titans amassed great fortunes making the gulf between the “haves” and “have nots” an endless chasm. Afterwards the poor started questioning the titans and the ways they made money exposing corruption in the industries and the government. The people would conduct strikes which would often end in violence. The U.S. was just starting to get ahead, but