The Impact and Influence of Andrew Carnegie on the American Culture and Society - Essay Example

Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist born in November 1835 (Lunenburg et al., 2020). Andrew led the American steel industry's expansion in the late 19th century and became one of the wealthiest Americans in his life (Lunenburg et al., 2020). Apart from his wealth, he became the leading philanthropist in the United States and the United Kingdom (Lunenburg et al., 2020). Carnegie is best known for the steel industry's development and growth which enabled him to grow financially. He started working on a cotton farm before securing employment in the railroad (Lunenburg et al., 2020). While working in the railroad, he invested in iron and oil companies, which allowed him to venture into the steel industry years later (Lunenburg et al., 2020).

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Carnegie also took part in social activities such as devotion to full-time philanthropy (Lunenburg et al., 2020). Andrew wrote an essay, 'The Gospel of Wealth,' which suggests that the rich have a mandate to share their riches with the less fortunate (Toussaint, 2018). Additionally, he stated that a person who dies rich dies disgraced and believes that the wealthy should promote the common man's welfare and happiness (Toussaint, 2018). He gave away an estimated 350 million dollars during his life, which was the majority of the wealth that he had accumulated from the steel industry.

Another philanthropic activity he performed was funding the establishment of more than 2500 public libraries around the world (Toussaint, 2018). The libraries were a way of enabling the poor to access learning materials that he had little exposure to while studying. Furthermore, he donated more than 7,600 organs to religious institutions worldwide and awarded organizations with funds to establish their ground (Toussaint, 2018). According to Toussaint (2018) most of these facilities exist to date and are the centers that educate on research in science and world peace.

Andrew funded the construction of the Carnegie Hall in New York and the Carnegie Institution of science (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). The funding of these educational facilities was because of his passion for reading books (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). By doing these activities, Andrew Carnegie created an impact and influenced the lives of many generations that have come after his generous acts. To date, some of the facilities he helped financially are still operational, like the New York City Concert, which hosts public gatherings and social functions.

Before Andrew adventured into philanthropy, he was the pioneering tycoon of the age of steel (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). During his trips to Britain, he realized the importance of steel and predicted its significance in the coming years. It is his organization that produced the raw materials that built the infrastructure of the United States (Goss, 2016). His developments proved to be critical because steel production enabled other industries to develop machines that performed various activities. Another use of steel was to build the railway line, which facilitated the transport of goods from one region to another (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). Carnegie's inventions became a catalyst to the industrial revolution in the United States due to the availability of materials and an efficient means of transport. Through the industrial insurgence, advancement in machinery gradually developed, and there is the modification of equipment still happening today.

Carnegie also attempted to pay off the United States government the amount of money they spent as part of the Treaty of Paris (Goss, 2016). This move would eliminate the islands of the Philippines as a colony of the United States. He was against the move by the government to deny the Filipinos their independence. A war emerged between the two countries after signing the treaty with the United States government against Andrew's wish and the Philippines' citizens. When the attempt to pay the United States government failed, he offered the Philippines the same amount of money to try to buy their independence from the United States government (Gindis, 2016).

Carnegie's efforts to warrant the Philippine's independence failed, forcing him to team up with American Anti-Imperialists such as Mark Twain, who was also against the invasion (Gindis, 2016). With their similar views, they were against the republican candidate McKinley and started supporting the democrat representative William Jennings Bryan in the next presidential election (Gindis, 2016). The main reason he was against the Philippines' takeover is that he viewed it as an obstruction to peace and freedom. He argued that the Philippines' leaders and citizens would have to follow regulations that they may be against, which will result in continuous violence throughout the years. Having in mind that he was a philanthropist, Andrew spent a large sum of money, ensuring that the world was peaceful and willing to buy independence for the Philippines' country. Through his commitment, he built the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands, which is currently the International Court of Justice (Gindis, 2016).

Andrew Carnegie socially influenced the community by giving back what he earned to the support livelihoods. Throughout his life, he promoted social justice, where he helped improve the lives of those in need. Through his non-profit ventures, Carnegie enriched the lives of the locals living in his hometown. Currently, the trust he started is still operational and administers public programs that help improve and develop culture and arts, education, recreational activities, and community welfare projects (Kaza, 2016). Through his efforts, the city of Pittsburgh is well known for the production of steel. It has led to the promotion of recreation facilities and sporting clubs such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, the American football team based in the city. Although he died a while ago, his contributions and efforts for a better society are still evident with the assistance and facilities he financed. He was also famous for his management style, which he learned while working in various companies (Kaza, 2016). The experience he obtained enabled him to lead his business in the right direction and provide solutions to most cases in the facility. There was an instance of violence against protesters at the firm, but his colleague led the management on that occasion while he was on summer vacation back in Scotland (Kaza, 2016).

He also created the Carnegie Corporations, which is still one of the largest grant-making grounds in the United States and aims to support the National Bureau of Economic Research, the development of Sesame Street, and the research of Gunnar Myrdal (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). The formation of these corporations still did not meet his desire to give out all his wealth and die penniless, which is a failure, given Andrew's ambitions (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). His work has attracted attention from various people worldwide with regular publication in magazines, public writings, and books. Most of his ideas still influence decisions concerning matters of economy, politics, and philosophy. He attributed his success to economic systems that appreciated enterprise and created healthy competition (Berkes & Nencka, 2019). This system helped to improve the lives of the poor through his philanthropic activities. Still, he admitted that it is at a cost because of the gap between the poor and the rich and the employer's and workers' disagreements (Berkes & Nencka, 2019).

Andrew Carnegie’s influence and impact on American culture and society is evident and lives on to determine how the current and future generations live. Through his activities, the world has managed to rapidly grow significantly through the inventions he made that facilitated the Industrial Revolution. His social life and the spirit of helping the less fortunate created and are still influencing how the wealthy look at the poor, thus ensuring that they give back to the community for all to benefit.

References

Berkes, E., & Nencka, P. (2019). ‘Novel’ideas: The Effects of Carnegie Libraries on Innovative Activities. In 2019 Meeting Papers (No. 1315). Society for Economic Dynamics. https://editorialexpress.com/cgi- bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=SED2019&paper_id=1315

Gindis, D. (2016). Book Review: Samuel Bostaph's (2015) Andrew Carnegie: An Economic Biography (Lanham, Md: Lexington Books). https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2905557

Goss, A. (2016). Policy Plutocrats: How America's Wealthy Seek to Influence Governance. PS, Political Science & Politics, 49(3), 442. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ps-political-science-and-politics/article/policy-plutocrats-how-americas-wealthy-seek-to-influence-governance/68956907EC2F6280D25236ADE2063D8E

Kaza, G. (2016). Andrew Carnegie: An Economic Biography. Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics, 19(3), 302. https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-486283912/andrew-carnegie-an-economic-biography

Toussaint, C. (2018). The New Gospel of Wealth: On Social Impact Bonds and the Privatization of Public Good. Hous. L. Rev., 56, 153. https://houstonlawreview.org/article/5051-the-new-gospel-of-wealth-on-social-impact-bonds-and-the-privatization-of-public-good

Lunenburg, M., Geuijen, K., & Meijer, A. (2020). How and Why Do Social and Sustainable Initiatives Scale? A Systematic Review of the Literature on Social Entrepreneurship and Grassroots Innovation. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 1-12. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11266-020-00208-7