CRE.ASIA domain for sale: Andrew Carnegie

<div class="field field-name-title-field field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><h1 class="resource-title"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg_Lk9Zc95EnxEHr2spbjM9dpYfIN8Dmc0t8ItbmhTRqZtTyPpOKU_bQvCQNef0aMwBMEvWnhnT1rww6Q79Ym9CwhopqaQ8emEsMkBUpF8WtH-hxcoAPtx6tSITnGIq5UBOI4Or0FhUi0xaWuIWbclrkV7Cc9QUKajkdTBs43F-s_jMmqPrvvoNZiwTPQ=s16000" /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Carnegie, Andrew</div></div></div></div></div></h1>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-description field-type-text-long field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Andrew
 Carnegie (1835-1919) was one of the most successful businessmen and 
most recognized philanthropists in history. His entrepreneurial ventures
 in America's steel industry earned him millions and he, in turn, made 
great contributions to social causes such as public libraries, education
 and international peace. He is responsible for the construction and 
donation of approximately 2,509 public libraries in the United States, 
Europe and around the world.</div></div></div>Biographical Highlights

Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was one of the most successful 
businessmen and most recognized philanthropists in history. His 
entrepreneurial ventures in America's steel industry earned him millions
 and he, in turn, made great contributions to social causes such as 
public libraries, education and international peace.

"Andrew Carnegie was the pioneering tycoon of the Age of Steel" 
(Let's Talk Business Network 2002). His steel empire produced the raw 
materials that built the physical infrastructure of the United States. 
He was a catalyst in America's participation in the Industrial 
Revolution, as he produced the steel to make machinery and 
transportation possible throughout the nation.

In his later life, he began to shift from a focus on industrialism to
 a more philanthropic view on life. Carnegie became the world's 
benefactor to education, as he is responsible for the construction and 
donation of approximately 2,509 public libraries in the United States, 
Europe and around the world (Ibid.).

Historic Roots

Andrew Carnegie was born November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Scotland.
 In this area of Scotland, most residents earned a livelihood through 
the craft of linen weaving. Carnegie was expected to follow in the 
footsteps of his family and become a weaver also. As a boy, however, 
Andrew was educated on the history of the land of Scotland, the plays of
 Shakespeare, the poetry of Robert Burns, the United States and its 
heroes, and a radical view of politics.

The Carnegie family had always lived a modest life, but they were hit
 particularly hard when factories began using automated weaving looms. 
In 1848, the family immigrated to the United States. Three months after 
leaving their home in Scotland, the family arrived penniless in 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andrew's father, Will Carnegie, had become 
greatly disheartened by his failure. Andrew's mother, Margaret, made it 
well known that she too was shamed by her husband's defeat and their 
family's poverty. This, in turn, led to a great determination to see her
 sons succeed. Andrew shared this sense of determination to recoup their
 family's losses (Swetnam and Smith 1993).

As a young boy, Andrew Carnegie learned the meaning of hard work. By 
age thirteen, Andrew worked as a bobbin boy in a loom factory for the 
sum of $1.20 per week, working in a dark, dim basement producing bobbins
 for looms. Next, Carnegie took a job as a telegraph boy delivering 
messages. He experienced much success in this job, as he became only the
 third person in the country to be able to decipher a message by ear 
instead of by examining printed dots and dashes. By 1853, at the age of 
eighteen, Andrew Carnegie had been recruited by Thomas Scott, president 
of the Pennsylvania Railroad and learned many of the ins and outs of the
 railroad industry (Let's Talk Business Network 2002).

By the age of twenty, Andrew Carnegie lost his father to illness. 
Over the next several years, he continued to further his career and 
increase his salary significantly by remaining at the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Company and beginning to invest his earnings. He first invested
 in Woodruff Sleeping Cars and then turned his attention to the oil 
industry. Both investments provided significant returns. While an 
employee of the railroad company, he also began working with the Union 
Army to repair damaged railroad and telegraph lines. In 1865, Carnegie 
retired from the railroad and founded the Keystone Bridge Company. The 
company envisioned building bridges with iron, rather than wood, to make
 them more durable.

Several years later, Carnegie wrote himself a letter pledging to 
retire from business at the age of thirty-five, live on an income of 
only $50,000 a year, and devote the rest of his income to philanthropic 
causes (Swetnam and Smith 1993, 33). Yet, his plans changed when, in 
1872, Carnegie traveled to England to visit Henry Bessemer's steel 
plants. There he realized the expansion potential for the steel business
 and returned to America with a plan to expand his current ventures in 
the steel industry. In 1875, Carnegie opened Edgar Thomson Works, his 
first steel plant. Several years following, Carnegie's mother, with whom
 he shared a very close relationship, passed from pneumonia. Following 
her death, Carnegie married the woman he had been courting for some 
time, Louise Whitfield. Carnegie's mother had previously disapproved of 
the relationship.

While expanding his steel empire, Carnegie ran into a series of labor
 relation problems with Homestead Works, a rival steel mill with the 
most modern equipment and technology available that he had purchased. 
The problems began when the workers organized a strike. Carnegie 
instructed his associate, Howard Frick, to handle the situation however 
he deemed necessary. Because Carnegie was seen as a friend of the worker
 and usually handled similar situations by peacefully waiting it out, he
 left the country so as not to be involved. There is some discrepancy 
about Carnegie's meaning behind his instructions to Frick; but what 
ensued was one of the most unfavorable examples of an industrial elite's
 wielding of power over poor laborers. Frick took a much different 
approach than Carnegie had previously. He arranged for a stand-off 
between the workers and Pinkerton Agents he had hired. The situation 
became violent and there was a twelve-hour shoot out. Even after 
surrender by the Pinkertons, the crowd remained violent and there was a 
violent breakout of beatings. The militia was brought in to settle the 
problem and Carnegie's reputation as owner of the company was forever 
tarnished. People blamed him for the incident and labeled him as 
cowardly for leaving the country and not settling the strike himself. 
The incident marked the end of Carnegie's image as a friend of the 
worker (Swetnam and Smith 1993).

In 1897, Andrew's daughter, Margaret Carnegie, was born (PBS 2002). 
The Carnegie family then purchased an estate, Skibo Castle, in Scotland.
 What followed was Carnegie's famous manuscript, a call to action for 
the wealthy men of his time -- The Gospel of Wealth. This, Carnegie's 
third publication, came out in 1889. He had previously published Round the World, An American Four in Hand in Britain, and Triumphant Democracy. The Gospel of Wealth
 was the most influential of his writings, however, in that Carnegie 
stressed that the wealthy had a moral obligation to give to 
philanthropic causes and serve as stewards of society.

Four years later, in 1901, Carnegie was nearing the end of his 
business career and allowed J.P. Morgan to buy out his steel empire for 
an astonishing price of $480 million dollars (Ibid.). Morgan was able to
 create U.S. Steel, and Carnegie became the richest man in the world. 
Carnegie did not want to remain a shareholder in the steel company, 
however, so he put the $300 million in gold bonds that he received from 
the deal into a specially-built vault in New Jersey. He never wanted to 
see or touch any of the money (Swetnam and Smith 1993, 145).

After Carnegie's exit from the business world, he continued to work 
for and support philanthropic causes. In The Carnegie Nobody Knows, 
Swetnam and Smith state

<blockquote>At first Carnegie considered it a game to give his money 
away. Whereas most men enjoyed making money, he in contrast delighted in
 seeing his fortune diminish. There never lived a man who had as much 
fun in giving away his wealth as Carnegie. One of his teasing tricks in 
giving was to hold his beneficiary in suspense, using the element of 
surprise. (154)</blockquote>

During his later life, Carnegie made contributions for two distinct 
purposes. He attempted to gain independence for the Philippines. He also
 founded many institutions and trusts to assist with causes related to 
education and international peace. His main philanthropic interest, 
however, was the founding of free public libraries. Carnegie spent over 
$56 million to build 2,509 libraries throughout the world. The last 
philanthropic trust Carnegie created was the Carnegie Corporation of New
 York in 1911. At that point in time, he had given away ninety percent 
of his fortune.

By 1914, World War I had begun and Carnegie left his estate in 
Scotland for the last time. The family purchased an estate called 
Shadowbrook in Massachusetts. It was at Shadowbrook that Andrew Carnegie
 passed away in 1919 (PBS 2002).

Importance

Andrew Carnegie's philanthropic endeavors are extensive in their 
value. "There is no doubt that Carnegie was a hard businessman"”his 
success is testament to this"”but the acquisition of wealth was not due 
to personal greed" (SLOCOE 2002). He strongly believed that the wealthy 
had a moral obligation to serve as stewards to society. The two causes 
Carnegie had a great passion for were education and international peace. 
Foremost, he believed that everyone was entitled to a proper education. 
For this reason, Carnegie was involved with the founding of many schools
 and universities. Another way he contributed to public education was 
through his interest in free public libraries. His love of reading 
stemmed from a positive childhood experience of reading from the 
personal collection of a merchant in his town. Carnegie wanted to make 
those same reading experiences available to the public at no charge. He 
is responsible for the establishment of approximately 2,500 libraries 
worldwide. One of the first of the Carnegie libraries was the Carnegie 
Free Library in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became the model for the 
thousands of libraries to follow (Ibid.).

The second of Carnegie's philanthropic focuses was the idea of peace 
among all nations. He established many trusts that focused on 
researching the causes of war. One of his greatest contributions to this
 cause was the establishment of the Peace Palace in The Hague, which 
houses an extensive library of international law resources (Ibid.).

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

Carnegie said, in The Gospel of Wealth, "The man who dies thus
 rich dies disgraced" (Ibid.). He often stressed the importance of 
people distributing their own wealth, but on a scale of philanthropy as 
large as Carnegie's, that task quickly became impossible. Therefore, the
 creation of the modern foundation was established. Carnegie used a 
number of trustees to distribute his wealth throughout Britain and 
America, with the Carnegie Corporation among them. The trusts can be 
associated with numerous donations including libraries, theaters, music 
halls, park lands, and schools (Ibid.).

Key Related Ideas

The level of philanthropy displayed by Andrew Carnegie during his 
lifetime and beyond has been the foundation for traditions of 
philanthropy today. His endeavors began the first efforts toward the modern day foundation or trust. His reflections and call to responsibility or challenge to other affluent people to give away their wealth drew the attention of many others to do the same, including John D. Rockefeller and W.K. Kellogg.

Other ideas related to Carnegie's life and philanthropy:

<ul><li>Donor involvement</li><li>Industrial Revolution</li><li>International law</li><li>International peace</li><li>Public education</li><li>Public libraries or free libraries</li><li>Steel industry and steel plants</li></ul>

Important People Related to the Topic

John Piermont (J.P.) Morgan, with whom Andrew Carnegie made 
his largest business transaction, became the sole manager of J.S. Morgan
 and Company following his father's death in 1890 (Family Education 
Network 2002). His career climb was one of financial battles, but he 
eventually developed a railroad empire by reorganizing and consolidating
 railroad companies throughout the U.S. In 1901, he formed the United 
States Steel Corporation after a major merger with Andrew Carnegie's 
steel corporations. U.S. Steel became the first billion-dollar 
corporation in the world.

In 1853, Andrew Carnegie became the personal assistant to Thomas A. Scott.
 Scott, at the time, was the superintendent of the Pennsylvania 
Railroad's western division. He later moved on to be appointed assistant
 secretary of war, supervising all governmental railways and 
transportation lines. Then Scott became the president of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company on June 3, 1874 (Dept. of Mathematics 
2002).

Related Nonprofit Organizations

Andrew Carnegie founded many organizations and trusts in his later 
life. These organizations include, but are not limited to, the 
following:

<ul><li>Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs was founded to work for international peace. It is "a forum for research and education in ethics and international policy".</li><li>Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, founded in 1910,
 strives for "advancing cooperation among nations and promoting active 
international engagement by the United States".</li><li>Carnegie Hall was built with a large donation from Andrew 
Carnegie in 1891. Its purpose it "to continue to be one of the world's 
leading institutions in presenting great music, and in promoting music 
education, music creation, and music enjoyment in a landmark concert 
hall".</li><li>Carnegie Institution of Washington founded in 1902 with a 
$10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie, was incorporated in 1904 by an 
Act of Congress. Its mission is to conduct "basic research and advanced 
education in biology, astronomy, and the earth sciences."  Carnegie saw 
the Institution's purpose "' to encourage, in the broadest and most 
liberal manner, investigation, research, and discovery, and the 
application of knowledge to the improvement of mankind'" (Ibid.).</li><li>Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's purpose is to be an 
institution "recognized as the region's best information resource... a 
preferred destination for knowledge, entertainment and social 
interaction".</li><li>Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is a Scottish charity that 
operates in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Information about its 
history, grantmaking guidelines, publications, and more is available on 
its Web site. The Trust has provided grants for "opening public 
libraries, providing church organs, developing village halls and 
supporting community needs in the arts, heritage and social welfare".</li></ul>

Bibliography

Department of Mathematics. Thomas A. Scott Professorship in Mathematics. University of Pennsylvania.

Let's Talk Business Network. Andrew Carnegie.

Livesay, Harold C. Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1975.

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Andrew Carnegie: Rags To Riches Timeline.

San Luis Obispo County Office of Education Online (SLOCOE). Andrew Carnegie: Striving to Enrich our Society and the People Within.

Swetnam, George and Helene Smith. The Carnegie Nobody Knows. USA: McDonald/Sward Publishing, 1993. ISBN: 0945437072.

This paper was developed by a student taking a Philanthropic Studies 
course taught at Grand Valley State University. It is offered by Learning To Give and Grand Valley State University.Soure: https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/carnegie-andrew

Carnegie, Andrew

Carnegie, Andrew Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) was one of the most successful businessmen and most recognized philanthropists in history. H...