Andrew Carnegie Gospel Of Wealth Analysis

1. The writer of this document is Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie was born in 1835 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania to a happy family of weavers. Although Andrew Carnegie did not make his fortune in weaving, it took the death of his father in 1855 to kick start his mindset to the importance of school and learning. He began to study theatre and drama and got his first job at a telegraph office as the messenger boy. Soon after he became the secretary to the superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in this time period would have been a great job considering the importance of the railways during this time. (http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/andrew-carnegie-217.php) He started making investments in iron, but he soon realized that

The article “Andrew Carnegies Gospel of Wealth” was written for people of higher class, the self-made rich or the people born into a rich family. Rich people in these times would make their fortune and then hold onto it till they died, then pass it on to their sons. These method issuers that only the rich stay rich, it leaves no room for the poor or the middle class because all the money stays in one family line. Andrew Carnegie is strongly against this; he believes that all wealth should be equally distributed because helping other people is better than leaving your money for someone who is already going to make a bunch of money after taking over the job you once had. These statements can be proved because Andrew himself states “We start, then, with a condition of affairs under which the best interests of the race are promoted, but which inevitably gives wealth to the few.” (Internet History) The key word here is “we” he is specifically talking about the small group or wealthy

Andrew Carnegie is trying to illustrate the problem of administrating wealth. Andrew Carnegie states “What is the proper mode of administering wealth after the laws upon which civilization is founded have thrown it into the hands of the few?” (Internet History) What Andrew Carnegie is asking is what are we supposed to do with this problem of administrating wealth. He then follows is up by saying “It can be left to the families of the decedents; or it can be bequeathed for public purposes; or, finally, it can be administered during their lives by its possessors.” (Internet History) Andrew Carnegie has simply stated three simple solutions to better the administration of wealth. He also made sure that everyone knows where he stands on the matter by stating “Of all forms of taxation, this seems the wisest.” (Internet History) right after he states the third rule which is the one he believes in