Andrew Carnegie's Impact On Society

During the rise of industry and unions in the United States, society, politics, and economics were all developing into what we know as life today. Some influencers of these reforms were businessmen who grew a small business into what was essentially an empire. Their hold on big business caused any other businesses to fail, leading to the formation of economic policy over monopolies. One of these businessmen, Andrew Carnegie, built a steel monopoly that, through vertical integration, liquidated any steel-related competition. Carnegie changed big business in the United States by influencing business policies, paving the path for future large companies, and inspiring the wealthy to help the poor and general society.

Andrew Carnegie was born in

This behavior led labor unions to become a staple in the world of big business, though they began forming in the early 1800s, they did not gain any significant membership or power until the 1860s and 1870s. Laborers formed labor unions as a way of protecting themselves from the unfair policies of their employers, and understanding that there is power in numbers, they rallied for the support of coworkers in order to essentially pressure employers to repair business flaws. In the 1890s, Andrew Carnegie’s Carnegie Steel Company employed a majority of the Pennsylvanian steel mill town of Homestead. All but few of the skilled workers were members of the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel, and Tin Workers union, which aimed to teach skilled workers what they deserve in terms of working conditions, pay, and hours and also help them how to achieve these standards through negotiations and organized strikes (Benson). However, when the union organized and began a strike on June 29, 1892, they could not have imagined the outcome. Carnegie, deemed too sympathetic to workers and unions by his associates, left his plant manager, Henry Clay Frick, in charge of dealing with the situation. Frick was ruthless in his fight against the union and when union members walked off of their jobs in protest of major wage cuts, he refused negotiation and even locked the workers out of the plant. On July 2, the

His book, The Gospel of Wealth, preaches that “the millionaire who properly recognizes his own position is merely a "trustee"; he holds his surplus wealth for the benefit of his fellows” ("Andrew Carnegie," Dictionary). Carnegie himself abided by these words, contributing to society in the ways that he believed would most benefit American citizens. At its peak, Carnegie’s net worth was $475 million, which is equivalent to about $310 billion in today’s dollars. However, around the time of his death, Carnegie had only $30 million left to his name, after he put his money towards building trusts, charities, schools, and primarily libraries (Zorn). This philanthropy diverged from the actions of any millionaires of the time. Though some, such as John D. Rockefeller, also took part in philanthropic work, none held such intense concern or addressed societal problems as directly as Carnegie. Instead of simply donating large sums of money to schools or foundations, established his famous trusts and foundations, such as the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, that to this day benefit students by earning them scholarships and increasing the quality of their education. He also specifically fought to improve African American education, funding