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A Foreign Affair: Carnegie Comes to America

Article Overview: “You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb,” said Andrew Carnegie. Indeed, Carnegie was more than willing to climb that ladder, reaching new heights of success in his adopted home of America. As founder of the multi-million dollar Carnegie Steel Company and one of the most generous philanthropists in history, Carnegie established his legacy as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.

A Foreign Affair: Carnegie Comes to America

“You cannot push anyone up the ladder unless he is willing to climb,” said Andrew Carnegie. Indeed, Carnegie was more than willing to climb that ladder, reaching new heights of success in his adopted home of America. As founder of the multi-million dollar Carnegie Steel Company and one of the most generous philanthropists in history, Carnegie established his legacy as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in history.

On November 25, 1835, Andrew Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. His father, William was a politically active handloom weaver who fought for such things as workplace safety laws, reform of the British House of Commons and the abolition of monarchies. William had grown up poor but educated himself and thus insisted that his children receive an education. Carnegie’s uncle, George Lauder, was a grocery store owner whose beliefs about the strength of the democratic institutions in the U.S. would later greatly influence Carnegie.

“I began to learn what poverty meant,” Carnegie would later write. “It was burnt into my heart then that my father had to beg for work. And then and there came the resolve that I would cure that when I got to be a man.” When steam engines began to replace the handloom and William’s father found it increasingly difficult to find a job, the family decided to emigrate to the U.S. They borrowed £20 from friends for the passage and never looked back. Soon, both father and son had found work at a cotton factory in Pennsylvania. 13-year-old Carnegie stayed there for one year, earning $1.20 per week. He then became a messenger for a local telegraph company, where his talents were spotted by the superintendent Thomas A. Scott and he was subsequently appointed secretary.

When the Civil War began in 1861, Carnegie became the war’s first casualty when he pulled up telegraph wires that had been buried and got a scar on his cheek from doing it too fast. Scott, who was also the Assistant U.S. Secretary of War, had asked Carnegie to go to the front with him. After the Civil War, Carnegie succeeded Scott as superintendent of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Here, he made a number of shrewd investments, including the Woodruff Sleeping Car Company and several iron mills and factories. It was during his frequent visits to England that Carnegie realized steel would soon replace iron.

As Carnegie’s investments continued to prosper, so too did his reputation throughout the upper echelons of American society. In addition to his good business sense, Carnegie was known for his charm and literary knowledge – something that his Uncle Lauder had instilled in him. Presidents and Prime Ministers were among those in his close circle of friends. Like his father, Carnegie became a regular contributor of many notable magazines and also wrote his own works, Round the World (1881), An American Four-in-Hand in Britain (1883), and Triumphant Democracy (1886).

By the mid-1880s, Carnegie was undoubtedly a success, but it would pale in comparison to the success he would soon create for himself in the budding steel industry.

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Article Tags: andrew carnegie, british house of commons, carnegie steel company, cotton factory, democratic institutions, dunfermline scotland, first casualty, foreign affair, generous philanthropists, george lauder, grocery store owner, handloom weaver, monarchies, reaching new heights, safety laws, secretary of war, steam engines, successful entrepreneurs, telegraph company, telegraph wires



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Greatest Capitalist Ever - Pound for pound, I think Andrew Carnegie was the greatest capitalist ever. I say that because he was arguably the first of a generation of great businessmen.
Other Great Books... - Feel The Fear And Do It AnyWay - Susan Jeffers How To Stop Worrying And Do It Anyway - Dale Carnegie ('What's the worst that could happen - the worst?' Then prepare yourself for that and reality is such a relief!).
Favourite Business Books - The November PROFIT magazine looks at the favourite business books of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs. The top 4 are: 1) Good to Great by Jim Collins 2) The E-Myth by Michael Gerber 3) Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne 4) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Money never sleeps - Money never sleeps. This is one of the good attributes of money. So when we are busy sleeping money still roams the atmosphere looking for whom we grab it. In Forex market, 3 thrillion dollars are been traded daily. When you are sleeping in America, the Australian are in business. This is why Bill Bates is one of the richest man in the world. As customers are sleeping in America, customers in other part of the world like Australia are still buying and downloading his software. The moral of this post is that,we should bo business that is on autopilot. Whether we sleeps or not money is been paid into our bank acount. Please share your thought on this.
Expanding to North America? - Looks cool eddieriby! So when are you coming to North America?


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