Andrew Carnegie: Robber Baron Or Hero?

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Whether Andrew Carnegie is a hero or a robber baron is a highly debated topic. Even though he did not treat his workers perfectly and gave the government a lot of his money, he still is an American hero. To better prove this point one must look at Andrew’s whole life, and even what came after it. Carnegie’s rise from rags to riches, his amazing knowledge of business, and his selfless regard for other people is what truly make him a hero.
Andrew Carnegie’s humble beginnings was a big part of why he is considered a hero. When Carnegie was growing up, he shared a house with another family. Carnegie and his family of 4 lived above his father’s weaver’s shop and next to another family for the first thirteen years of his life. The Carnegie family …show more content…
Carnegie gave his friends some of the best business advice, even when they didn’t know they needed it. After twenty five years in the steel business Frank Doubleday, one of Carnegie’s friends, told Andrew that his business statements were only given once a year. Carnegie’s response to this was for Doubleday to “Get out” of that kind of business. This conversation comes from Oscar Handlin’s Andrew Carnegie and the Rise of Big Business, published in 1975. Oscar Handlin was an extremely accomplished historian, teaching history at Harvard University for more than 50 years. Along with advising people, Andrew Carnegie also shifted his steel prices to accommodate them. During September of 1875 Carnegie’s Edgar Thomson Steel Works sold one ton of steel rails for about $66, $11 more than what it takes to produce. Less than two years later Carnegie’s steel was selling for roughly $41, less than a dollar more than what it takes to produce. This shift in prices shows that Carnegie chose to lower his prices to fit his consumers. He could have easily kept his prices the same and profited almost $20 more per ton of steel, but he wanted to make life easier for his
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