Three Men Who Contributed to The Industrial Growth of the United States
By 1900 the United States was the world's foremost industrial nation. During the late 19th century with the rapid growth in industry, came the rise of able and powerful businessmen. Some were young men who by their boldness and vision established giant corporations and became wealthy. This essay will be a closer look at one successful "captains of industry". It will examine how Andrew Carnegie, came to be "captains of industry" and what there attitudestoward his attitude towards wealth was. It will look at Eugene Dabs who led the fight for higher wages for railroad workers, and led the socialist party. And it will look at Horatio Alger, the man who made his money writing about the rags to riches stories of men like Andrew Carnegie and Eugene Debs. This county's rapid industrialization following the Civil War was in large measure possible because by the production of low cost steel. Andrew Carnegie recognized the importance of cheep steel. More than any other man Carnegie was responsible for the growth of the steel industry in the United States. Born in Scotland, Carnegie came to America in 1848,when he was thirteen years old. Young Andrew started work in a Pennsylvania cotton mill where his pay was only a dollar and twent
Debs was born in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 5, 1855, the oldest son of immigrant parents from Alsace. He began work at the age of 14 in the railroad shops of Terre Haute and soon became a locomotive fireman. Although he quit railroading in 1874, he became an officer in the local lodge of the struggling Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen in 1875. Laboring tirelessly to build the organization, Debs in 1880 became secretary- treasurer of the national Brotherhood and editor of the Locomotive Firemen's Magazine. He also had a promising career in politics, serving as Terre Haute city clerk (1880-1884) and in the Indiana state legislature (1885-1887). Then the increasingly militant Brotherhood claimed all his efforts. Consequently, he acquired vast iron ore fields in the upper Great Lakes region and built a fleet of boats. These boats transported the ore to Ohio, where it was reloaded for transportation by railroad to blast furnaces near Pittsburgh. Carnegie also owned the blast furnaces and soon gained control of the railroad line. By 1900 the Carnegie Steel Company, with headquarters in Pittsburgh, was the country's leading producer of steel. When Andrew Carnegie decided to retire Carnegie is remembered not only for his success in business but for the generous gifts made from his fortune. Funds provided by Carnegie built approximately 2800 Carnegie Free Libraries in the United States and elsewhere. When asked why he gave so much of his money away he said, "I started life as a poor man and I wish too end it that way". This quote sums up how Carnegie felt about his wealth, he didn't see it as his too keep for himself. He saw it as Alger's attitude toward wealth reflected that of his book, that through honesty, hard work, and strong determination, the American Dream was available to anyone. Alger became chaplain of a lodging house for newsboys in New York City in 1866. Alger wrote more than 134 enormously successful dime novels targeted primarily at young boys. In each of his books, the theme was pretty much the same. It usually focused on a yo
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1390
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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