American History

This paper shall present a brief exploratory discussion on Andrew Carnegie and shall attempt to highlight how Andrew Carnegie was one of the most influential tycoons of the industrial revolution.
The man who was to become the most influential Scottish American Industrialist in American history was born in Dunfermline, Scotland in 1835. It was in 1848 that his family moved to Pennsylvania, United States. As a young boy Carnegie held a great degree of interest in arts and literature. He would frequent the libraries and theaters to which he could acquire access and would commit himself to self-development (Nasaw). Andrew Carnegie, along with his parents, immigrated to the US where his position in a delivery boy led him to move up the hierarchy through his talents and hard work. As he progressed, he moved from being a small shift delivery boy in a telegraph company to one of the most influential men in American history.

Carnegie was one of the most influential industrialists during the industrial revolution on account of his extensively philanthropic nature. Even though he was known for his vast steel empire, his wealth played little role in bringing him fame across those who were present at the time of the industrial revolution. He was not only a business man in the industrial era but also a renowned philosopher and an exemplary philanthropist (Nasaw). He made sure he contributed to the well being of the people in his home town and his dedication to literature lead him to establish a library in Dunfermline. Furthermore, he made numerous donations to hospitals and laboratory.

One of the most well known acts of Andrew Carnegie that is often quoted as an example of how he would go beyond himself, his wealth and his fortune to bring benefit to the people around him and beyond can be found in the fact that before the Philippine-American War began, Andrew Carnegie attempted to buy a country from a country. His bid rivaled the United Stated bid of nearly twenty million dollars that the United States had made to the Spain for the acquisition of Philippines. He wanted to allow the Philippines to buy their independence from the United States (PBS). Even though his attempts were futile and no outcomes were achieved, his mere attempt at doing so has placed him at on an unmatchable pedestal amongst the many other great men who lived through and contributed to the industrial revolution.

What began as a very strong steel industry soon became an iron and steel industry. Even in this area, Andrew Carnegie chose to step away from the manner in which other steel industries of the time used to function and contributed to the establishment of the country wide railroad network by bringing the idea of mass production to the manufacturing of the steel rails required for the building of rail road lines (Nasaw). An example of his contribution to the industrial revolution of the late 1800s can be found in the fact that steel manufactured by Andrew Carnegies steel industry went into the construction of the famed Eads Bridge over the even more well known Mississippi River.

Carnegies success was by no means attributable to simply luck. In essence, his influential role in the industrial role owes itself to the numerous connections and partnerships he made with the leading men of his time. He is known for having made early investments in numerous areas that allowed him to move up the social scale (Rau). His initial technique was to acquire loans and invest them in manufacturing businesses of his own. He had an aggressive but well coordinated and highly thought out manner of doing business that allowed him to acquire earlier returns on his investments as his businesses and investments continued to develop.

It is of the utmost importance to realize that Carnegies recognition is not simply because of his philanthropic nature and immaculate sense of business. He was also a philosopher of sorts through his journalism. He would write in numerous weekly and daily publications and served to shape the ideas and perceptions of countless men to become entrepreneurs after him. Publications such as The Gospel of Wealth, the Triumphant Democracy are only a few of the essays that he wrote (Hillstrom and Hillstrom). Through these essays, Andrew Carnegie presented new and thought provoking ideas to the industrialists and business men of his time while influencing the thinking of many young business men.

Andrew Carnegie was a hardworking man who chose to dedicate himself to the pursuit of progress. He left no opportunity untapped during his progress and benefited in terms of wealth and fame during the course of his development. However, he considered it a duty for every wealthy man to dedicate a part of his wealth to the betterment of those around him who do not have such wealth. He introduced this and other such ideas through numerous publications and continued to highlight the significance of the wealthy mans duty to his society. He practiced what he preached and is known for having spent almost all of his fortune on charity and aid work before his death. It can be observed from this brief discussion on Andrew Carnegie that he was more than simply a business man. He was a journalist, a philanthropist, a philosopher and a major contributor to the American economy and the benefit of its people.