The Life Of Andrew Carnegie's - Essay Example

Andrew Carnegie’s Life Introduction Andrew Carnegie is presently the second richest man in the world after John D. Rockefeller. His migration from Scotland to the United States was perhaps a great turning point in his life. The world of the American Dreams accommodated him but for that, he had to work very hard. He was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth and so, he had to begin his career as a petty factory worker in a bobbin factory. He was then employed as a bill-logger for the same company. He for sometime also worked as a messenger boy. Carnegie then moved to a telegraph company. In Carnegie’s career, there always has been an upward graph movement. He built the Carnegie Steel Company in Pittsburgh. The company later merged with Elbert Gary’s Federal Steel Company along with a few smaller companies and the US Steel was formed. Carnegie had always invested his money to make profit as well as for the betterment of the society. He established a many libraries, schools colleges and universities. In short, he was a philanthropist. In keeping with his achievements and contributions made to the world at large, we will discuss his memoir, The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth. The book is a narration of his success story and a discourse on wealth suggesting that the rich should invest their wealth to uplift the society. In his autobiographical note, Carnegie refers to the saying that he is born ‘of poor but honest parents, of good kith and kin’. The adherence to this particular notion of birth stated that he is quite explicit in admitting his ascribed status. It also shows that sticking to moral values is his way of approach to life. We had seen Carnegie as a man full of positive forces. In his autobiography, he says that he is indebted to his grandfather for his ‘optimistic nature, and ‘ability to shed trouble and laugh through life’. (Carnegie, 8) Carnegie in this book admits that he has inherited the ‘scribbling propensities’ (Carnegie, 8) from his maternal grandfather Thomas Morrison. His maternal grandfather and grandmother are his source of inspiration and they give stress to education. We had also found in Carnegie’s social work, his wholehearted support to the sphere of education. Carnegie father’s premature death brought him even more close to his mother. In his autobiography, he describes her as his ‘favorite Heroine’. (Carnegie, 9) His faith in family values was the key to his success and his recognition all over the world.  He states that it was his privilege to rear up in Scotland, the center of poetry and learning with its great historical past. Later in his life facing the blatant reality of life, the memories of the past was the driving force to ‘elevate his thought’. The Scottish heroes like Robert Bruce and William Wallace instigated within him a desire to do something extraordinary. (Carnegie, 10) Carnegie and his family shifted to the United States and he called this experience and venture into a new life ‘bewildering’ (Carnegie, 20). Carnegie here for the first time was exposed to the extreme form of poverty. He was one of the ‘children of honest poverty’ (Carnegie, 21). These phases of life enabled him to become a successful entrepreneur as he came to understand the value of money. During that period of hardships, a many offers came to employ Carnegie as a vendor but his mother turned down those proposals. The sense of honor was strong in the household of the Carnegie family. Andrew, the son had stated, “Anything low, mean, deceitful, shifty, coarse, underhand, or gossipy was foreign’ to the heroic soul of her mother. (Carnegie, 23) He had a mind to support his family and then joined as a worker in a factory manufacturing bobbins. He had ‘to run a small steam-engine and to fire the boiler in the cellar of the bobbin factory’. (Carnegie, 23) The job was burdensome but it gave Andrew Carnegie the first hand experience of the working procedures in a factory and with this knowledge, he later he emerged as a successful entrepreneur. Under Mr. Hay, he learnt also to maintain accounts. His proficiency at clerical jobs was appreciated. As Carnegie himself said, ‘I was good at figures’. (Carnegie, 23) This was a sign of becoming a good entrepreneur. His job as a messenger boy in the telegraph office introduced him to many people. However, his acquaintance with Thomas A. Scott was the turning point in his life. Scott was the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Carnegie became the private secretary and telegrapher to Scott. He started his investment program. He started buying stocks in a sleeping car company and the output was lucrative. (Carnegie, 36) In 1864, he prospered in his iron business and received many contracts for the construction of the railroads. (Carnegie, 59. In 1873 he gave his undivided attention to steel business. He was the pioneer in introducing the Bessemer steel making process in the industrial hub of America. By 1860s he had funds in railroads, derricks and bridges. (Carnegie. 92). In 1865, he established his largest steel plant, The Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock. Carnegie was at the zenith of his career even during the Great Depression of 1890 but due to the Homestead Steel strike, he had to suffer loss. These vicissitudes are natural phenomena of life and his optimistic spirit enabled him to overcome all the hurdles of life. He is rightly called the captain of the industry. He knew the method of employing and hiring men and had the ability to manage thousands of people working under him. He was a true entrepreneur. However, at the same time he was generous enough to acknowledge the hard work of his workers that had made him successful. He stated that ‘put good eggs in one basket’. (Carnegie, 87).It meant all his ideas and thoughts should be amalgamated to produce a grand notion to success.The continuous success in business was like an addictive drug. He always enjoyed the game of competition for profit and success. He believed that success in business would be possible only by adhering to the laws of the market place. His oratory skills were an added advantage in his journey to success. According to Carnegie, it is of no use to run after success. If one does his duty, success is bound to come. Therefore, there is no need to look for approval but must possess the consciousness to give the best. The number game and the desire to achieve recognition in the world never pestered the humanitarian values that were passed on to him by his family. His essay ‘The Gospel of Wealth’ was a reflection of his noble thoughts. In this essay, Carnegie stated that the wealth of the rich must be distributed in a ‘responsible capitalistic society’. (Carnegie, 193) He was hopeful that one day the gap between the rich and the poor would be bridged and there would be ‘Peace on earth’ (Carnegie, 191).  Therefore, he stated, ‘Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community’. (Carnegie, 191) This idea of distributing the surplus wealth among the poor was a realistic approach to help them. According to Carnegie after accumulating wealth to a certain extent what he intended to do was the ‘difficult task of wise distribution’ of it. (Carnegie, 124) He wanted to blur the distinction between the palace of the millionaire and the cottage of the laborer. The master and his apprentices presently had the opportunity to work together. Nevertheless, the increasing level of competition was responsible in generating a friction between the employer and his employees. In other words, the society is paying the price for the laws of the competition. Finally, he had to welcome the change for the advancement of the race. He accommodated the ‘great inequality of the environment’. (Carnegie, 186) He had to adopt this policy in keeping pace with time. At the end, he had drawn a conclusion by referring to Swedenborg’s idea of health. In heaven, the angels derive their bliss by working not for themselves but by laboring for each other. This is a philanthropic attitude to life. (Carnegie, 187) Therefore, we found him donating 350 million dollar for establishment of libraries. There are 2500 free public libraries all over the world built due to his financial aid. He stated in his autobiography that money could be of no use if it could not be utilized for the purpose of education. This he had learnt from his ‘own early experience’. (Carnegie, 29) Carnegie’s own set of private principles enabled him to be a triumphant entrepreneur. According to him,’…the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department’. (Carnegie, 186-187. In other words, Andrew Carnegie through many ‘trials and triumphs’ became the ‘steel master and built up a colossal industry’. (Carnegie, 6) He then distributed his wealth for the progress of the society. Conclusion Andrew Carnegie was definitely a successful entrepreneur. The reason behind his success was his positive attitude to the life. His aspirations and the happiness of the soul made him a winner. He believed that education is the key to the success in life. He himself never received a formal education due to unavoidable circumstances. Therefore, he always contributed for the cause of education. In his opinion, it must be the duty of a wealthy man to fulfill the legitimate wants of the deprived. It is said of him that this man of steel possessed a heart of gold. He further added that bread could sustain a man but it could not be the source of life. A number of millionaires had suffered from malnutrition. A healthy mind makes the body rich. In other words, a noble thought makes a person successful. The energies, thoughts and capital must be concentrated for proper use and the well blend of it makes a man triumphant in his works. His autobiography is the story of a poor bobbin boy and his struggles and finally the transformation to the one of the richest personas of the world. Carnegie’s life is an example of American Dream. He is the embodiment of hope, knowledge and success. The sound judgment and business sagacity is the foundation of Carnegie’s success. Carnegie though was taken aback by the loss he suffered due to the Homestead Steel strike but then he again made up for his loss. It is easy hard to achieve something great but is even harder to take off and reorganize after the fall. Carnegie could do that and was his success as an entrepreneur. Work cited Carnegie, Andrew, The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie and the Gospel of Wealth, Massachusetts, Digireads.com Publishing, 2009 Read More