To What Extent Is Andrew Carnegie A Hero Or Not?

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.

Andrew Carnegie, a tightfisted employer among many, but a good-hearted philanthropist among many more; however, does this really explain if he was or was not a hero? Andrew Carnegie was a scottish immigrant born in November 1835 who grew up in a poor and hard life, whose family made the tough decision to the Americas in 1848, started working at age 12 to appease his family’s financial trouble. He worked harder and harder, deciphering dot-dot-dash messages by ear, setting train schedules and untangling train wrecks, and saving Union soldiers, and finally, as a result, rose to become one of America’s richest and most integral heroes. However, we should ask ourselves this: Was Andrew Carnegie truly a hero? Well, to answer that question we need to look at the definition of a hero. Hero, a word defined as a person who holds amazing courage, or a person who possesses strong integrity, or a person who boasts a vast amount of intelligence or wisdom. Going by this interpretation, we could state that Andrew Carnegie was a hero in the business area because of his strategic intelligence; in the social area because of his honest integrity; and in the economic area because of his courageous work and investments.

Finally, Carnegie should be considered a hero because of his philanthropy contributions and donations to society. Andrew Carnegie believed that the best way to spend your fortune was to devote it for the most beneficial results for the community by providing them what they could not do for themselves (Doc 8). Carnegie spent most of his life gaining immense amounts of money and becoming one of the richest men of the 19th century. Once he retired, he felt he needed to use his

Andrew Carnegie was known to be the most hypocritical of all robber barons. He supported worker’s rights but couldn’t uphold his own moral code. Under his watch, his company cut worker’s wages and extended hours. Carnegie caused an uprise of his own workers and created the Homestead Strike of 1892. He approved that his company should hire men to intimidate the workers into submission, which sparked violence and ultimately resulted in many people getting killed. Andrew Carnegie used his wealth and influence to his benefit, paying a replacement to fight for him to avoid getting drafted in the Civil War. Andrew Carnegie was a powerful robber baron that used vertical integration to control the steel industry.

Imagine having all the money you want and still having a ton left over. Andrew Carnegie was a poor boy who ended up becoming the richest man in america during 1901. He worked himself up in the Pennsylvania Railroad company and would have been successful there but he was unclear on what he wanted to do. So he decided to move to New York City where he met Henry Bessemer. Bessemer taught him how to make steel, so then Carnegie moved back to Pittsburg and set up a steel mill. There he became a steel king and it caused him to become extremely wealthy. A hero is someone who has courage, integrity, and a concern for others. There were three reasons Andrew Carnegie was not a hero and they are he was a hypocrite, did not care about others, and caused others to lose self respect.

Andrew Carnegie can be looked at as a double edged sword. One edge of the blade would show Carnegie as an ideal example of a poor immigrant fighting his way up to become an incredibly successful business man who would one day give nearly all his fortune away to help society improve itself. The reverse edge of the blade would show Carnegie as a ruthless business man who would slash his workers pay, drive other businesses under and used corruption to become leader of the capitalist world. These viewpoints of Carnegie have changed as years pass. Early accounts of Carnegie depict him as the ruthless conqueror of the steel industry while other later works tend to show both sides of Carnegie with great emphasis on the fact that he was a great

Andrew Carnegie was a man who started from nothing and built his way up to find his fortunes in world of steel and factories and after retiring set himself to a life of philanthropy donating his fortunes to the people. This isn’t to say he was an entirely good person however, as his time as a business owner and as an employer. Whether he was a captain of industry or a robber baron is up to your opinions, but I believe he was a true captain of industry.

Andrew Carnegie did amazing things with his money while and even after he was alive. He also had flaws and did some not so very good things. He used his fortune to do things like buying organs for churches, donating to colleges, and building public libraries. His Homestead steel mill, on the other hand experienced a strike and its workers were not very content, which Carnegie turned a blind eye to. So was Andrew Carnegie a hero?

The second industrial revolution had a major impact on the United States, which is also referenced as the Technological Revolution. By the early 1900’s, the United States was known as the greatest Industrial powerhouse. America had several technological advancements happening at once, that not only improved people's lives but also made businesses flourish. Andrew Carnegie was the creator of steel, and he also found a way to mass produce it. Though Andrew Carnegie had several accomplishments and did the greater good he was not a hero in my eyes. If you were to define a hero, many would say that a hero is someone who sacrifices their own life for others, and wants what's best for everyone. A true hero would not use their fortune to run away from conflict, a true hero would not prey on others weakness to get to the top, and most importantly a true hero would pay their workers what they deserved for a deadly job and their time.

The “rags to riches” story is a term of reverence respecting the few in society who sacrificed the little they had and emerged successful. These doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and other professionals inspire people of all socioeconomic levels by transforming nothing into something. Jay-Z, George Soros, Steve Jobs – these are names culture holds with great respect. One “rags to riches” story not many Americans have heard of pushes the limits of mental capacity. This man followed the poor-to-rich path and succeeded to such high degree that he, in turn, defined the very essence of this characteristic. Once a poor boy, Andrew Carnegie transformed the limited resources available to him into tools that aided his journey in becoming one of the richest, most successful men in all of history. Carnegie began his journey as an immigrant to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from Scotland. His family sought work, as their former weaving business had been destroyed by the Industrial Revolution (“Andrew Carnegie” American Experience). This experience as a poor worker created the drive that led him to become one of the wealthiest men of all time through his massive steel company, the Carnegie Steel Company. In conjunction with his economic success, the tycoon used the fruits of his leadership in the steel industry to become the “father of American philanthropy” (“Meet Andrew Carnegie”). As accomplished the man became, the

Besides the people who thought Andrew Carnegie was a captain of industry others thought the opposite. He was a rich robber baron who was a “Robbin’ Hood, who would steal from the working man to give to himself. He gave wealth to the poor was true, but it was not his own money, it was the money from the left over low wages of the workers while keeping his own. People believed that he was a robber baron giving away money that was not really his. This made him a robber baron even though having the captain of industry

Hero, the definition of Hero, has been by pondered by many individuals. Hero is not word of mouth but a word of action characterized by spontaneous acts of benevolence to society, as well as leaving a mass footprint of succession that can be used as aide for the future. A famous entrepreneur, named Andrew Carnegie is a true definition of a hero, existing in an era of massive industrialization, where skyscrapers held their heights, and steam engines ignited. In fact Andrew Carnegie had indeed impacted the industrialized world with his new adoption of the Bessemer process creating his billion dollar steel empire. Andrew Carnegie can be defined as a hero because of struggles in his early life, philanthropy and his impact on the world .

Andrew Carnegie is considered to be the richest person ever. Carnegie is known for his steel business that he developed on and became one of the last steel business by buying and taking out his competition. Carnegie is said to be a very generous man by donating to education and charities. The questionable thing about Carnegie is if he is a hero? Many people see him as helpful, and nice, but others see him two faced, selfish, and hypocritical.

Andrew Carnegie, born on November 25, 1835, was a Scottish philanthropist who was one of the richest men in America in the 1900 's. I completely agree with Carnegie 's opinion of how the rich should donate their money toward the good of mankind before they die, but disagree with his actions toward his workers . He started working in a cotton mill making $1.20 a week only to upgrade to $2.20 working as a messenger boy. He eventually taught himself telegraphy and worked as Thomas A. Scott 's assistant for $35 a month. He moved on to investing, with the help from his “mentor” Scott, in the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company and several small iron mills and factories. He was so successful that he was

He sold the company to J. P. Morgan, for which he personally received $250 million of the $492 million Morgan paid for it. He supported and began many corporations and institutions. Many positive establishments were created only because of his generous donations. To this day many people are still benefiting from the large Carnegie fortune.