Civic Discussion #2
Prompt
Did Andrew Carnegie have a positive influence on America?
Step 1: Develop Questions and Plan the Investigation
- What do you think is the main argument on the “yes” side of the question? Carnegie donated billions of dollars to help support and develop American infrastructure
- What do you think is the main argument on the “no” side of the question? Carnegie had failed to maintain a reputation that the workers liked
- As a group, come to agreement about the major points on both sides of the question
| Major Points: “Yes” | Major Points: “No” |
|---|---|
| Donated money and gave back to the country | |
| Developing the iron industry | Riots and unreasonable labor conditions which sparked outrage, which was not handled correctly |
Step 2: Apply Disciplinary Concepts and Tools
Source A
Title: Meet Andrew Carnegie: The Two Andrews
Author: The American Experience, PBS
Summary
Andrew Carnegie had a great contradiction in himself. He wanted both individual power and democracy. When Carnegie was young, his family was poor, and his father often taught him economic equality. Then they immigrate to U.S and Carnegie determine to bring wealth. In the rest of his life, he devoted himself on his factories. In labor unrest period, he supported union, but in his own place, he always drove bargain and get success. In 1900s, he sold his company and do lots of charity
Source B
Title: Business Leaders: A Historical Sketch of Andrew Carnegie
Author: Daniel A. Wren
Summary
Carnegie was apart of a firm which produced over 50% of than the steel produced by Great Britain. He had published articles arguing that works should organize unions to seek better compensation, and experimented with 3-8 hour shifts rather than the traditional 2-12 hour shifts. Carnegie had developed a reputation to workers demands, however unreasonable. Frick disagreed with this approach, and sent Pinkertons in response to the workers demands - who had taken full control of the plant at the time. The Pinkertons failed and the union won, but Pennsylvania’s governor sent their militia to recover the mill. Frick had tarnished his reputation, and Carnegie backed Frick. However, he felt that that the strike could have been settled without violence. Carnegie failed to realize that the wages should only be tied to productivity.
Source C
Title: Where Have You Gone, Andrew Carnegie?
Author: Peter Henle and Mark Drajem
Summary
Yes. He helped build the institutional infrastructure in America. For example, he donated about 5.4 billion dollars in today's money. He built many institutes and libraries. Some big foundations, including Carnegie's, continue to donate. According to Giving USA, overall philanthropic giving by Americans topped $100 billion in 1994.
Source D
Title: The Homestead Strike of 1892
Author: Joe White
Summary
No, a lot of this article is storytelling, but it also focuses on the fact that there were constant riots between the large industries and the workers. It mentions that labor unions conflicted with Andrew Carnegie and his business alongside Henry Clay Frick. The author talks about how said industry had made a one-time, one-chance negotiation with the union, but the union didn’t take it. So, the union workers and Carnegie entered a battle. I think over all this author focuses on the positives of the union, rather than a positive influence that Andrew Carnegie might have had.
Source E
Title: Andrew Carnegie : Biography
Author: John Simkin Spartacus International
Summary
Yes, this article paints Carnegie in a positive light by explaining his accomplishments as well as the positive influences he had on society. This included developing the iron industry and writing books. Riots from the worker union was the result of Henry Frick's decision to lower the piecework wage of employees and was not influenced directly by Carnegie, and in fact wasn't even in Scotland during the strike. The article ends off stating how Carnegie contributed to society by investing in public libraries, technology, science, establishing a movement for peace, and giving away money before he died to "carry on his good works”
Step 3: Use Evidence to Formulate Conclusions
Formulate Compelling Arguments with Evidence
Switch Sides
| Arguments and Evidence | |
|---|---|
| Yes | Was worth $350M Used money to setup libraires and colleges Built Carnegie Institute of Technology as well as put money to prevent international wars Built most of the steel infrastructure |
| No | Listened to Frick, even though he sympathized for labor unions No actions occurred even after workers protested Took advantage of people |
Step 4: Communicate Conclusions and Take Informed Action
My Point of View
- After considered the various points of view and evidence my point of view on this question at this point is this: Yes, Andrew Carnegie had a positive impact on America
- Supporting evidence for my point of view is Yes, the development of the steel industry was mainly led by Carnegie, and Americans have provided its dependency on it - look at all of the American infrastructure today: skyscrapers, bridges, etc. Additionally, the amount of money he donated is worth $5.4B as of today, which is a significant amount of money to donate to America.
- My group basically agrees on the following points He donated a bunch of money, which was good for American infrastructure
Assess the Discussion
- Was it valuable to argue both sides of the question? Yes
- Did you have a point of view that differed from others in your group? No
- Did you change your own point of view over the course of the discussion? No
- What did you learn from participating in this civic discussion about… The amount of money that Carnegie donated towards America, as well as how he shaped the American steel industry.