How Did Andrew Carnegie Change The Economy

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,

Andrew Carnegie, the “King of Steel”, the benevolent employer, the giant of industry, was among the greatest influences of the second industrial revolution. It is sometimes questioned whether Carnegie was the ruthless, sneaky steel tyrant some made him out to be, or the generous, benevolent education benefactor he appeared to be. I believe him to be a combination of both, but more so the great giant of industry.

The Carnegie Steel Company was a successful factory, which employed many hundred of workers. Andrew Carnegie, who was the owner of the company, wanted a large successful business, which he had achieved already, but he was always looking for ways to save and make more money. By 1892, unions had been formed

Many people at the time were living in poverty and there weren’t enough jobs that had sufficient pay to support a family. The steel industry was one that had the highest earning wages. The average daily wage at the time for iron and steel workers were $1.87, this is far above other industries that had a smaller amount of pay. Others can argue that because of the bad working conditions workers faced in the steel industries, Carnegie shouldn’t be considered a hero. But isn’t the goal of a business to create more jobs? Carnegie believed that it was proper to have completion between the rich and the poor because if there wasn’t, there would be no individuals capable enough to provide such jobs to further expand the essential needs of laborer and those of the economy (Doc 3). When Carnegie sold the Carnegie Steel company to J.P Morgan for $400 Million, the newly named company (U.S Steel) created numerous amounts of jobs employing 168,000 people.

There were many big businessmen in the Gilded Age, some used their wealth to help the country, others did not. In the Gilded Age, there was exponential economic growth: increase in population, better transportation, new technology, and new business ideas. Entrepreneurs thrived in this time, these businessmen were thought of a captains of industry or robber barons. Most people thought that they were captains of industry because of the good they did for the country. Entrepreneurs such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford all helped their economy in some way.

     Let us first look at Mr. Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie was a mogul in the steel industry. Carnegie

He eventually worked his way up to superintendent of the Pittsburgh Division of Pennsylvania Railroad and caught the eye of two company executives – Thomas A. Scott and company president J. Edgar Thomson – both of whom would remain influential throughout Carnegie’s life. Carnegie became quite adept at investing and one of his earliest endeavors was using his connections and skills to merge the T.T. Woodruff & Company (later called Central Transportation Company), a maker of sleeping cars for trains, and the Pullman Palace Car Company.” After the experience from these jobs and guidance from his mentor, Thomas Scott, along with perfecting the Bessemer Process to make iron into steel efficiently and cheap - Andrew Carnegie made a fortune in steel in the late 1800s. Along with this Carnegie also used a process called horizontal consolidation or horizontal integration - this is a process in which a company buys out or merges with all competing companies. “By 1889, steel production in the United States outpaced that of the U.K. – and most of that was under Carnegie’s control. By then, Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in America.” However by 1892, Carnegie began suffering after the Homestead Strike, his reputation was tarnished for awhile and he ultimately ended up selling his

In the movie, The Richest Man in the World, Andrew Carnegie played a major role in influencing the Industrial Revolution, which changed the economy of the US and the world forever. This era brought upon significant changes through economic developments that would not only change the ways of the economy but also the social aspect of society, especially within the cities where this growth was located. The shift from hand-made to machine-made products increased productivity and decreased costs. Through the innovations of the new forms of energy, such as iron, and then steel, establishments of factories began, competition between businessmen arose, and innovations of transportation in the city through railroads and bridges developed. The

The use of vertical integration by Carnegie was taking business away from other industries who needed citizens and companies to purchase their product. Carnegie became more popular and people started to buy his steel over others which had a negative effect on society as a whole while only improving his earnings and taking from other industries. Along with using vertical integration negatively, Carnegie was a robber baron. A robber baron is a business owner who tends to use ruthful tactics to gain more wealth. Carnegie Steel and many other business enterprises had people working for them in harsh conditions that were unsafe and unsanitary. Along with getting low pay, the workers were also forced to work 7 days a week for unbelievable hours. Carnegie’s factories were unsanitary, poorly ventilated and the employees were underpaid and overworked in unsafe environments. Overall, Carnegie abused his power of wealth to overrule his employees and used vertical integration to take from other industries, but without doing so he would not be as successful as he was.

The late 19th century and early 20th century, dubbed the Gilded Age by writer Mark Twain, was a time of great growth and change in every aspect of the United States, and even more so for big business. It was this age that gave birth to many of the important modern business practices we take for granted today, and those in charge of business at the time were considered revolutionaries, whether it was for the good of the people or the good of themselves.

It illustrated the poor conditions of labour, which contributed to industrialization and a labour union, which took care of fighting for benefits and the working conditions of these child labourers. Andrew Carnegie’s article (as seen in document D) proposes the idea of the rich using their wealth to improve society, as he believed that the fact that a person was rich, showed that he was more fit than others. Carnegie acknowledged that the living conditions were poor and wanted to help change that. This introduced industrialization into the Gilded Age. In the late 19th Century, Carnegie led the enormous expansion of the American steel

Many historians are conflicted on who led the Gilded age. Some would say the Robber barons led the businesses, but i would say that the captains of industry led the Gilded age. They got to the top through using some shady methods, but once they got to the top they helped other people out rather than just themselves. Andrew Carnegie was one of the most powerful captains of industry. He led the steel-making industry and

Many of the men who were called "captains of industry," they worked hard to make America an advanced and prosperous nation. "Some of them, however, greed for gain and aggressive buisiness practices earned them the less flattering titles of "robber barons." (United States History Book) Some of the most influential companies of the Gilded Age were the Standard Oil Company, the United States Steel Corporation, and they were founded by two of the "robber barons" John D. Rockfeller, the first American billionaire, founder of the Standard Oil company, and J.P Morgan, the founder of the United States Steel corporation, America's first supercorporation. "The production of steel and iron rose as the demand for improved transportation increased the desire for the resources of the west such as lumber gold, and silver." (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/gilded/jb_gilded_subj.html) The Gilded Age was a period when many great companies were created, and supported America's inevitable growth in

During construction, the railroad industry fell due to money issues and Rockfeller withdrew his oil from the railroad trains which threw the country into a depression. A steel mill owner, Andrew Carnegie, cared about the industry so much that he found a way to get it back up and running. He supplied cities with steel to build skyscrapers. Due to the price of steel, he made a great profit off of the steel which brought the railroads back up.

At the end of the nineteenth century began an era of industrialization that created an economic upturn called the gilded age. Hallmarks of this age were technological advances, banking innovations, and wealth concentrations. Railroad construction, advances in steel production, and electrical innovation drove industrial and economic growth. Emerging from this upheaval were a gaggle of industrial big wigs: John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, and Andrew Carnegie. These three represented an unholy alliance with government and big business that left smaller