The Man Who Built 2,500 Libraries — Andrew Carnegie (1892)
Carnegie built 2,500 libraries. That same year, he sent armed mercenaries against striking workers. One man. Two faces.
A Poor Immigrant
- Andrew Carnegie, age 13. Immigrated from Scotland to America.
He worked in a textile mill for $1.20 a week. Then telegraph messenger, then railroad clerk.
Thirty years later, he controlled 25% of American steel production.
The Steel King
Carnegie Steel. Pittsburgh.
Efficiency above all. Latest technology, cost-cutting, acquiring competitors.
1900: Carnegie Steel's annual profit — $40 million. The same year, the U.S. government's entire budget — $500 million.
One company earned 8% of the national budget.
Homestead, 1892
Carnegie left for a vacation in Europe.
He left Henry Clay Frick in charge.
Frick cut wages. Workers went on strike.
Frick called the Pinkerton Detective Agency. 300 armed guards.
July 6, 1892. At dawn, Pinkerton men crossing the river by barge were met by striking workers. A gunfight broke out. Ten people died.
Two Faces
Carnegie said throughout his life:
"The man who dies rich dies disgraced."
He gave away 90% of his fortune — 2,500 libraries, Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon University.
But about Homestead, he was silent for the rest of his life.
The Sale
- J.P. Morgan bought Carnegie Steel.
Sale price: $480 million.
Carnegie spent the rest of his life giving the money away.
When he died, he had $30 million left. Everything else had gone to society.
Life: 1835–1919 | Homestead Strike: July 1892 | Sale price: $480 million | Libraries built: 2,509
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