Andrew Carnegie
A man who had a goal and stopped at nothing to achieve It. Some call him a robber baron and others, a captain of industry. At thirteen years of age Carnegie had moved to America from Scotland. This move was exactly what was needed for Andrew Carnegie to begin building his empire and In doing so, contributing to society along the way. I respect Carnegie a great deal for his success and by no means, contribute his success to anything other than his determination, want and persistence.
I feel Carnegie contributed a great deal to society. He has paved many ways and helped society evolve greatly. Many portray him as this monster who cared not for anyone except his money and success however, that is not the case. In my eyes, someone who comes from such a background as Carnegie had, should be proud of his accomplishments. Unfortunately, envy and jealousy are a part of human nature. We always want what we can’t have yet, we can have most of the things we want but, to do so usually means we have to work harder, think outside the box and take risks.
We have to have he want. Carnegie did. I am baffled that more people cannot see the good that Carnegie has done. Most of the people in Carnage’s time had jobs due to him. Now, they may not have been paid in fortunes but, if I remember correctly, Carnegie was not paid that way either in his early life. He started out in poverty and rose to the top. He worked in cotton mills with his father from dawn to dusk, making $1. 20 as a bobbin boy. Carnegie had a dream, and it was a big one. His intelligence and desire to learn are what helped make his empire. Carnegie was an Industrialist.
He believed that the rich and wealthy had a duty to use their riches In ways that promoted the advancement of society. This Idea is what he referred to as the Gospel of Wealth. He wanted to give back and help those who wanted to help themselves. Carnegie believed that the lifestyles of wealthy and how they live actually benefits society. I also believe the same. It provides a vision for the poor to want to strive to. This vision is what separates the ones who wanted to better themselves from the ones who don’t want to put in the work. Throughout his wealthy life, he gave so much to society.
The best means of benefiting the community is to place within its reach the ladders upon which the aspiring can rise?free libraries, parks, and means of recreation, by which men are helped in body and mind; works of art, certain to give pleasure and improve the public taste; and public institutions of various kinds, which will improve the general condition of the people; In this manner returning their surplus wealth to the massif their fellows In the forms best calculated to do them lasting good. ” (Finer 30) There Is no disputing the fact that employees of his were not treated In the best says.
He ran his factories In such a way that he was hated for It. Carnegie wanted his factories to run at the maximum. He was a brute of a boss but, so are many still stressful and harsh work environments. In fact, I would bet my life that there is abuse in the workplace still today. The differences are few between today and Carnage’s time. He went about a lot of things in a very different way than most. In doing so, even with the harsh and abusive work environment, he still thought of the benefit of the people. The belief that it was his obligation to give back as much as he could.
He always looked at the big picture of things. There were two sides of Carnegie. On the one, he was a very intense, brutal boss. He wanted the maximum output of most things. He was willing to do what needed to be done to succeed. He was a genuine businessman. On the other, he was a very intelligent, giving, and very caring man. He believed that anyone could make themselves a better person and by doing so would be contributing to society. Carnegie wanted a society where everyone strives for greatness, where all men could better themselves. He wanted to help this happen in NY way he was able to.
He believed that contributions to helping those who wanted to improve was one of the greatest contributions of all. He wanted to see society succeed. He helped bring America to it’s highly powerful level that it is at. “There were the famous libraries-three thousand of them costing nearly sixty million dollars; there were the Carnegie institutes in Pittsburgh and Washington, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Hogue Peace Palace, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the precedent-making Carnegie Corporation of New York, with its original enormous endowment of $125,000,000. ” Ornithologist. Mom) We all need and enjoy the resources of public libraries and a vast majority have been provided by Andrew Carnegie. Although he left a bitter taste for most when it came to his workers, his many other contributions and commitments should out way the distaste. Carnegie lived up to his beliefs at their fullest in his end of days. He left almost all of his fortune to philanthropies. Carnegie shows us that even the best of men with the greatest of ideals can fall victim to the temptations of wealth. However, his victory in he end, of not forgetting his beliefs , also shows us how theses failures can be turned into successes.
In the elite group of the “one percent,” Carnegie was very much different from the majority. He felt compelled to do good with his success and fortune. He felt that benefiting society by any means was in fact, the greatest victory of all. I feel that this statement from Andrew Carnegie is one of great value and is an appropriate conclusion to my essay. Meet the day is not far distant when the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was free for him to administer during life, will pass away “unwept, unhorsed, and unsung,” no matter to what uses he leaves the dross which he cannot take with him.
