What makes someone a hero? Is it their thoughts, actions, or feelings? What they do, say, or talk? Being said, there are many ways to classify a hero. A prime example being Andrew Carnegie. He was born in Scotland in November of 1835. He grew up in a poor, household. Like many other poor families, they decided to move to the United States, ending up in Pittsburg. As soon as they were there, Andrew started working. He bounced around from job to job until 1861 when helped out in the Civil War. After 3 years he bought his way out of the service legally. He then moved to New York, fascinated by the idea of industry and the big city. After finding his way into the steel industry, everything went up from there. The Question still poses, Was Andrew Carnegie a hero? Andrew Carnegie was a hero because he worked hard to better himself and the people around him, advance society, and give back to what was given to him.
Andrew Carnegie was a hero for ambition and hard work at what he did. Photos courtesy of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh , shows 2 homes. The first photo is of his childhood home, a small house shared with another family and a rent of $20. The second photo is Skibo Castle he bought and made renovations to that costed about $10,000,000. The difference between these 2 homes shows traits of a hero. He worked hard and believed in himself to put himself and the people around him in a better place. Carnegie dedicated himself to what he did surpass the poor, bad times, and make it into the good.
Carnegie’s attempt to better the steel industry and lower selling prices also leads to him being a hero. From an Edgar Thomson Steel works report in 1903 in New York, The difference between production cost and selling prices declined tremendously. From about a $10 difference in September of 1875 to about an average of $3 difference between 1883-1888, the cost went down quite a lot. This helped better society and the industry side of America. The lower prices allowed for commoners and businesses to purchase steel and grow Americas buildings and railways at a much cheaper rate.
Carnegie’s givings also showed how he was a true hero. From a chart created from the Joseph Frazier Wall from the Oxford University Press in 1970, includes many givings from Carnegie to different Universities, libraries and Public Institutions, giving more than $350,000.000. These givings show heroistic traits and what kind of a person carnegie really was.
He was not in it just for himself but to better those around him and give back, being humble.
All in all, through Andrew Carnegie’s life, he showed many traits and ideas of being a hero. Whether it was helping out the people around him, trying to help and advance society, or give back and try to give back what was given to him, he will always be remembered as a hero to many.