Essay Sample on Andrew Carnegie: Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?

He started with almost nothing, but he eventually developed a fortune. Andrew Carnegie was one of the wealthiest men in the world in his time. He earned a fortune through investments, and he worked for most of his life in the steel industry. Wealthy people in this period were usually classified by one of two titles: captains of industry or robber barons. Carnegie was considered both by many people at the time and today.

Both “robber baron” and “captain of industry” describe successful business leaders, but the two terms are very different. A robber baron, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is “a business owner or executive who acquires wealth through ethically questionable tactics,” and a captain of industry is “someone who owns or manages a large, successful business or company”. This would suggest that every robber baron is a captain of industry, but the word “captain” would imply that people admire them for some reason. Carnegie was both admirable and ethically questionable. He donated large amounts of money to the public, but he also refused to let his workers organize.

Carnegie was both malevolent to his employees and benevolent to society, but before he grew to power, he worked in a cotton factory for only $1.20 per week. A few years and jobs later, he started working with the Pennsylvania Railroad; from there, he rose to the superintendent. While in this position, he began to grow his wealth through investments such as railroad sleeping cars, a railway company, and a steel company. Eventually, he created his own steel company, the Carnegie Steel Corporation, where he continued to grow his riches for nine years. In these nine years, Carnegie became both admired and hated.

Carnegie was terrible at times to his employees. One person pointed out that “Many workers in his steel mills worked for 12 hours per day, seven days a week, and were cast aside when they were no longer physically able to meet the demands of the workplace.” This would not be very convincing alone, but one example of the terrible conditions was in 1892 during the Homestead Strike. One of Carnegie’s chairmen planned to cut homestead workers' wages, and Carnegie supported this. The workers went on strike, but Carnegie’s company hired people to break apart the strike and force the people back into work. Many people were killed during this strike. One could argue that Carnegie did not do these things: that it was only his company, but he had been trying to get rid of unions long before the strike. Because of these unethical decisions, he is definitely a robber baron, but not everything that he did was unethical.

Despite this aggressive event, he showed his moral values at times. He was most remembered for philanthropy later in his life; he funded more than 2000 public libraries through his donations. These donations are the main reason that people see him as a captain: people admire him for his generosity. He spent the last few years of his life donating about 90% of his overall wealth; he even claimed that “The man who dies thus rich dies disgraced.” Although Carnegie has been very unethical, he made up for it with philanthropy.

Andrew Carnegie was both a wonderful and terrible person; he was both a robber and a captain to many people. He treated his workers badly, but he also tried to improve society. He grew to power through his steel industry, then sold it. Carnegie started with nothing, but he ended up with more wealth than most people can imagine. Some of the choices he made to get to this point were questionable, but he was quite generous once he succeeded.

Works cited

“Andrew Carnegie’s Story.” Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2015, www.carnegie.org/interactives/foundersstory/#! Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

Biography.Com Editors. “Andrew Carnegie.” Biography, 26 May 2021, www.biography.com/business-figure/andrew-carnegie. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

“Captain of Industry.” The Merriam-Webster.Com Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captain%20of%20industry. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

History.com Editors. “Andrew Carnegie.” HISTORY, 22 Sept. 2021, www.history.com/topics/19th-century/andrew-carnegie. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

“Homestead Strike.” HISTORY, 16 Nov. 2021, www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/homestead-strike. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

Klein, Christopher. “Andrew Carnegie Claimed to Support Unions, But Then Destroyed Them in His Steel Empire.” HISTORY, 1 Sept. 2020, www.history.com/news/andrew-carnegie-unions-homestead-strike. Accessed 10 Feb. 2022.

“Robber Baron.” The Merriam-Webster.Com Dictionary, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/robber%20baron. Accessed 7 Feb. 2022.

Staff Writer. “How Did Andrew Carnegie Treat His Workers?” Reference.Com, 30 Mar. 2020, www.reference.com/business-finance/did-andrew-carnegie-treat-his-workers-de36d945a374a10f.