Andrew Carnigie Case

During the 1800's millions of people immigrated to America, best known at that time as the New World. Most immigrants came to America on a boat and arrived at the ports of New York City. The reason for immigration to America was for religious and political freedom, to re-unite with family that have already immigrated, and other people came for economic opportunity. Everybody at that time and some still today believed in a concept called the American Dream. This concept is a belief that a person can have a rough, unstable beginning but through hard work and consistency can overcome the past and be successful. Many immigrants came to the New World seeking to live the American dream. One immigrant named Andrew Carnegie would live the American Dream and become one the most successful and wealthiest person of the world.

Andrew Carnegie of Dunfermline, Scotland was born November 25, 1835. Andrew lived with parents, Will and Margaret, and brother Tom. Will owned a weaving business and Tom, who was the little brother, still attended school. William's business turned obsolete, which forced Margaret to mend shoes for their only income.Margaret's sister, Annie Aitken, offered the Carnegies rent-free housing if they joined the sister in the New World. So in 1848, they wanted to escape their homeland which had nothing to offer them, they would take a boat to America for a fresh start. "Faced with such mixed reports, the Carnegies clung to Scotland as long as they could despite their dwindling fortunes. They finally left because conditions at home became intolerable, not because opportunities abroad were irresistible."(6). After about ten weeks the Carnegies had arrived in New York, in a poor neighborhood which Andrew was not expecting. In order to make money and survive William got a job at a cotton textile factory with his son ,Andrew, working right with him. Andrew was a bobbin-boy and was only making $1.20 a week. While working at the textile mill, occasionally Andrew got the opportunity to work in the factory office where he was initially exposed to accounting. At 14 years old Andrew was attending night school and had aspirations of becoming successful. In 1849 Uncle Hogan offered Andrew a job to become a messenger boy with a telegraph company in Pittsburgh. The location of this company was at a intersection of three rivers; Monongahela, Allegheny River, and Ohio river. This turned it into a industrial center, where the job put Andrew in touch with many business producers travel elsewhere. Andrew's job was to deliver telegraph messages, which wee the fastest way to communicate and do business transactions. This makes Carnegie very understanding of Pittsburgh's commercial business. Through determination and hard work, on and off the clock, Carnegie was able to advance in position. Starting out as a messenger and moving up to a full time telegrapher. Being one of the first operators to translate a telegraph message by ear rather than print out, puts him in a position to be known as the cities best operator.

In 1852 Carnegie was offered a job as secretary and personal telegrapher by Thomas Scott. Thomas Scott was the western division supervisor of Pennsylvania Railroad. Andrew will eventually put twelve years into this company, and through those years he will acquire managerial skills, economic rules, and contacts with people. One of these people would be J. Edgar Thompson, who is the first president of that company. With Andrew being on the front line perceiving most of the business transactions, he notices the increase in railroad traffic. With all of this going on around him, Carnegie believes that this is the first real big business of America. With railroads connecting Pittsburgh to both the Atlantic coast and Pacific Coast, and the Pennsylvania Railroad being the busiest. "Impressed with Carnegie's work, Scott offered him a job as a secretary and personal telegrapher" (25). Carnegie became Scotts right hand man, greeting customers and asking what else can be done to meet their needs. He oversaw shipments that were received and sent off, while at the same time dealing with railroad's laborers. With the talent of rallying the employees into working hard and becoming loyal, which he continued to carry on through his career. Scott brings Carnegie into the modern system of train control. Andrew must assemble a solid railroad telegraph employees, working with Thomson and Scott. At twenty years old, Carnegie forged Thomas signature on paper work, in order to avoid shutting the railroad system down after a derailment. Carnegies ability to overcome situations and lead, led to full-time dispatchers. After this incident, Scott was very impressed with Carnegie and puts him in charge when he goes away on trips. In 1859 Scott gets promoted to vice-president, which in turn puts Andrew up the western division superintendent position at just twenty-four years old. From the time Carnegie took his promotion in 1859 to 1865, railroad increased from 367 to 856 miles while traffic quadruples. At this time Thomas see's Carnegie as a hero and promotes Andrew to general superintendent, but Carnegie declines. He says his apprenticeship has expired and its time for something else. Pennsylvania Railroad has 30,000 employee's and 3500 miles of track.

Back, while still in the railroad business, Scott persuades Carnegie to make his first big capital investment. This investment was in Adams Express Company, where "Realizing that the $10 dividend check represented money earned without working" (53). After seeing the potential of stocks this has Carnegie seeing increased capital in another light. In 1863 his stocks pay just over $45,000 and five years after that increased all the way $56,110 per year. All of this income came from a $817 loan that Andrew had taken specially for investing. Now at 28 Andrew has enough knowledge to know what to invest in wisely and what not too. He only invests in companies that are directly related to the Pennsylvania Railroad. With the massive growth and how much Pennsylvania Railroad is depended on, makes investing in it not even a gamble. Carnegie forms a triarchy involving Thomas, Scott, and himself. Carnegie continued to invest in multiple businesses, one being Woodruff, which started out as $217.50 investment that in a couple years turns into $5000 a year. Carnegie then meets John Piper, who is the supervisor of bridge construction at a company called Keystone Bridge Company. In 1856 Carnegie and Piper discuss how using iron bridges will be safer then wooden bridges because of the fire hazard with wood. Then after speaking with Linville who is a bridge engineer, they had come to the conclusion that after a certain span iron is cheaper and stronger, so it can hold more weight. Carnegie leaves the railroad to concentrate on Keystone. Finally western land is open to bridges