Andrew Carnegie And The Gospel Of Wealth

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Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835, and grew up in rather poor family. He was born into an average working family and had his first job as a bobbin boy paying at $1.20 a week. He continued advancement and later became one of the biggest steel companies in the area. Although, he may have had a poor life before riches, he had no sympathy for the low class. He was quite a hypocrite. He grew up desperate for money and success, low wages were expected for the low class citizens. At the age of 14 Carnegie worked transporting telegraphs, and in 1853 he started working for the Pennsylvania railroad. When he worked for the railroad he was a personal telegrapher. After working for a while, he decided to start working for himself, Carnegie was in a position where he considered himself, ‘above the law’. In this time period the people with most power was not the government, but the businessmen. He was considered the richest man in the world, because he had over $400,000,000. The “Gospel of Wealth” is where the wealthy give their money to society, this is what Carnegie believed in. He gave to charities and donated about 2,500 libraries during his life time. He also believed in something called, “Social Darwinism,” Social Darwinism is a theory that all people, or groups, or groups of people are the same as plants and Although, his workers had potential, he gave them no chance and under pad the good men. He believed in “Social Darwinism,” and “Gospel of Wealth”. Many say he had been seen to have been a good person by donating money and libraries. But others say it was a way he covered up his bad personality, and the way that he lived. He shut down his work place for ‘renovation’ to replace his workers, and left most jobless. But many people still think today he may have been a good person, but he ripped potential out of good people by underpaying them and letting them starve, and giving them no money to take home to their

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