Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie: Robber Baron or Captain of Industry?

Harold Livesay's biography of Andrew Carnegie portrays a man that can be called at once both a Robber Baron and a Captain of Industry. This paper will attempt to show how each title applied to Carnegie in his lifetime and how, in fact, the two titles (far from being dissimilar) may actually be considered synonymous.

Andrew Carnegie's humble beginnings do not necessarily qualify him for the title of "Captain of Industry" simply because he rose from poor immigrant status to tycoon. What Livesay's portrayal does do is show how Carnegie came to personify the "American Dream" -- even if that dream was also a nightmare. Carnegie's unflagging disposition and pluck helped him thrive in an industry that was rapidly changing even as Carnegie himself was growing up. His work in the Pennsylvania Railroad gained for him the experience he needed to...
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