How Is Andrew Carnegie Successful

Everyone wants to be successful. The “American dream” is to become filthy rich. In the 1800’s it was much more difficult to become a millionaire. However, a select few conquered this achievement. Andrew Carnegie was one of these select few. He became one of the first “captains of industry” in America. Being successful, Andrew Carnegie made his fortune by living out his dream in the growing nation. Andrew Carnegie was born on November 25, 1835. He was born in Dunfermline, Scotland. He was proud of his Scottish heritage. Carnegie once said, “it’s a God’s mercy I was born a Scotchman, for I do not see how I could ever have been contented to be anything else,” (Rau 10). Dunfermline was a weaver’s town. So, obviously William Carnegie, Andrew …show more content…
In 1881, Carnegie visited Scotland with his mother and other close friends. He could not believe the amount of people that were there when he arrived. They had declared a day of holiday. The people had flags, banners and flowers in honor of the native son. Carnegie was a millionaire. It was his responsibility, he thought, to distribute his wealth to the community. He donated money for his hometown, Dunfermline, to build a library. The Carnegie Library was first of two thousand eight hundred and eleven built in Scotland, the United States of America and throughout the world (Nasaw 185). Carnegie felt that it was his duty to provide education for those who would later lead the world. When he and his mother got back, Carnegie’s mother became sick. Then Carnegie caught typhoid and became sick as well. To add to the illnesses that were in the family Carnegie’s brother Tom was suddenly struck with pneumonia. Sadly while Carnegie was bed ridden, his mother and brother died just within days of each other. Carnegie was devastated. Carnegie, however, returned to work. He sought a wife soon after the death of his mother. He fancied a woman named Louise Whitfield. He wrote, “In the end the others all faded into ordinary beings. Miss Whitfield remained alone as the perfect one beyond any I had met,” (Edge 7). He wedded on April 22, 1887. However, when he got married he spend a lot of time in Scotland and not in the United States. Many people were mad and called him disloyal to his adapted country. He decided that he should spend more of his time in the United Stated rather than Dunfermline (Andrew 1). He was busy, but with age Carnegie knew it was time to retire. John Pierpont Morgan was one of the most powerful men in the United State. Carnegie Steel was a competitor to Morgan’s lead in the steel industry. So, when Andrew Carnegie was will to sell that company for four hundred and eighty million dollars, Morgan was eager to buy. The