Social Darwinism Andrew Carnegie

684 Words2 Pages

Industrialization was wide spread during the early 19th century largely due to the advancement of the railroad system. A system put into place that allowed businesses to transport their goods throughout the countryside. Unfortunately, the wrought iron that was used for the rails couldn’t hold up long enough under those extreme conditions. For this reason, another alternative was needed to keep everything functioning as it should. Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant from Scotland who started in the textile industry couldn’t let that opportunity slip by and with the use of the Bessemer process he was able to make a stronger metal out of pig iron. The process took off slow in 1872 with him only producing about 70 tons a week but by 1892 the gains …show more content…

Social Darwinism which was basically a survival of the fittest module allowed the strongest to keep advancing and the weak and meager to remain stagnant. The ones with money and power didn’t have many obstacles in their way which allowed them to thrive during that era and if a problem presented itself they had the means to solve it. Unfortunately, the less fortunate one had to fend for themselves, but everyone who had attained wealth didn’t have the attitude of letting people suffer and make it on their own. Although Andrew Carnegie was a hard man to work for he did give millions to charity to help others who were in need and also suggested that his others in his position follow suit. Laissez-Faire economics which was named by Adam Smith played a significant role during that time because it allowed businesses to have complete control without the interference of the government. The overall goal was that with this in place employers would be more profitable which they would in turn pass down to the employees, but greed reared its ugly head once again and as a result you had harsh treatment of the workers and disregard for consumer safety which required the government to become more involved to protect the people of the

Open Document