Andrew Carnegie

A man of Scotland, a distinguished man citizen of the United States, and now a philanthropist devoted to the making the world around him a better place, Andrew Carnegie became famous at the turn of the twentieth century and became true rags to riches story.

Carnegie’s life Started on “November 25, 1835 in Dunfermiline, Fife Scotland” (Nasaw 36)

Carnegie’s Family was poor, but he still grew up in a well cultured and political family. Many of Carnegie’s closest Relatives were self educated tradesmen and class activists. William Carnegie although poor had educated himself. William also was politically active and was involved with those organizing demonstration against the Corn Laws, Also he was a chartist. “William Carnegie also wrote articles for the Radical Pamphlet, Cobbett’s Register.”(qtd. In Nasaw 12)

He wrote about governing safety at work, which were passed many years later in the

Factory acts. He promoted the abolition of all forms of privilege, including all monarchs.

Tom Kennedy was also another influential uncle, was a radical political firebrand. “A person that did not conform to what society’s standards in any shape form or fashion.”(Nasaw 52)

Andrew Carnegie’s mother Margaret mother taught the young Carnegie the frailty that he would one day become famous for later on in life. One day in school he quoted a proverb that his mother had repeated often “Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves” (qtd Nasaw 56) His classmates often laughed at him, unaware that the principal would one day help Andrew Carnegie to become one of the riches men in the world. Mrs. Carnegie Followed her two sisters to Pittsburgher husband took up the grueling factory work with a nearby cotton mill, but he soon quit it to return to his hard room to make to make table clothes that he sold door to door. Mrs. Carnegie once again picking the time his family was still poor. Carnegie found his mother crying about the family’s struggle. Andrew, her first son, was born in Scotland in 1835 to the twenty-five year old Margaret. By the mid- 1840’s, the family was sliding into object poverty. William, Margaret’s husband, was a hand weaver who at the new and improving times started to dramatically lose business due to the new power driven factory looms. The family had to leave their rare house and move back to small quarters. Margaret opened a small food store to add to the family’s income. As one of the winter of 1897-1848 it was not clear at all if the Carnegie’s would survive the industrialism growth of Scotland. Even before her husband dies the family had started to hand the financial responsibilities over to Andrew Carnegie, who supported him, his mother, and his younger brother tom. As the western Division superintendent his salary was raised to one hundred twenty-five dollars a month which put his family into a comfortable position. Carnegie moved with his mother and sixteen year old brother, Tom to the West Liberty neighborhood, or downtown Pittsburg. Margaret not only “rode her son’s coattails”(qtd in Nasaw 12) she was also possessive of her son . In 1880 when Margaret was approaching the age of seventy and her son approaching the age of forty-five, was a serious threat to her domino. Andrew became friendly with smart woman named Louise Whitfield, a daughter to one of his business associates and 21 years his junior. The two got to know each other while horseback riding in Central park

Andrew Carnegie avid pursuit of education and passion for reading was jump started by Colonel James Anderson, Who opened a library of about 400 volumes to working boys each Saturday night.

Carnegie was a “self made man”(Nasaw 22) in both his economic development and his intellectual and cultural development. Carnegie was willing to work hard show tons of perseverance , his alertness soon brought for the opportunities he would soon encounter in his long illustrious life. In telegraph messenger boy in the Pittsburg office of the Ohio telegraph company, at two dollars and fifty cents a week, which at the time was a huge fortune.

The job besides for income, helped grow his love of William Shakespeare’s works he has required he has to deliver messages to a theater, and he often managed to continue had been raised on a performance.

Carnegie Learned the o so hard trait of telegraphy by ear and was only part of the two or three in the country that