Andrew Carnegie: The Man Behind the Steel

Andrew Carnegie: The Man Behind the Steel

I chose to right about Andrew Carnegie for the two following reasons. The first

being his Scottish heritage, and second being his close ties with the city of

Pittsburgh. I happen to have some Scottish blood in me but more importantly I am

from Pittsburgh.

Andrew Carnegie’s story of rags to riches is slightly more inspiring than that

of Henry Clay Frick, his partner. As a Scottish immigrant Carnegie made his

ways through the ranks of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Upon passing on an

offer for the superintendent of the Pittsburgh division of the Pennsylvania

Railroad; Carnegie and his brother Thomas purchased an already running mill

(Burgoyne 6). From here Carnegie built up the largest and most lucrative iron

and steel works in the world. His character was often challenged by certain

individuals and defended by others. It is common knowledge that Carnegie viewed

himself as a man of the people since he came from humble beginnings. Conversely

labor historian Harold Livesay was quoted in saying, “that certainly by the

standards of ethics and conduct to which we would like to hold businessmen

today, he indeed operated extremely ruthlessly (www.pbs.org).” Carnegie’s

character, views on labor and actions regarding Homestead will be discussed

more in depth further.

The Homestead Strike of 1892 is known as one of the bloodiest and most bitter

labor strikes in American history. Many though would consider it to a necessary

progressive movement even taking into account the many lost lives. In order to

understand what exactly occurred in Homestead during the summer of 1892 it is

first necessary to understand the town of Homestead itself. It is important to

point out the fact that without the mill there would be no Homestead, therefore

making the mill the nucleus of the town. The mill was located along the

Monongahela River in the south of Pittsburgh. Not having seen the mill myself

I’m sure that it would have been a beacon to Pittsburghers, encompassing 600

acres of the river’s bank (Burgoyne 1-2). The entire of economy of Homestead

was centered on the mill with all other businesses depending on the revenue

dispersed by the mill. Store owners, bartenders, and seamstresses all alike

depended on paychecks from the mill to spend at their respective

proprietorships. There for the lockout of the mill did not simply affect the

mill workers but rather all 12,000 residents of Homestead (Burgoyne 1).

As for Andrew Carnegie, well he became the richest man in the world. In the

year 1900 Carnegie sold the company to J.P Morgan for $480 million.