Exploring New Technologies: Andrew Carnegie's Steel Empire

Andrew Carnegie

 

  American businessman (Dunfermline, Scotland, 1835 - Lennox, Massachusetts, 1919). He came from a poor family who emigrated to America in 1848. He had a self-education, while made a living on hard trades and was saving to buy stakes in small businesses of their city, Pittsburgh.Carnegie managed to get his first fortune trading with bonds sedirurgicos railway companies and products. 1873-1880 he concentrated on the production of steel to realize their business.

 

  Carnegie later showed the prototype of the "self-made man," typically American human ideal that was only possible thanks to the context of free-market without taxes or regulations that existed at that time.

 

  Carnegie companies managed to increase their power and production thanks to the many partnerships established between its partners; HC Frick, senior partner of Andrew, made him realize the need for vertical integration. Besides the steel industry in Pennsylvania also acquired new iron mines, shipping and railways, thus adapting to new monopolistic tendencies that prevailed in the economy in the late nineteenth century.

 

  However, he refused to come to market sharing agreements between large companies, to defend the old ideal of competitive capitalism. This position embroiled him in an unfortunate "war" with the powerful group of JP Morgan, which led him to extend its activities to the west of the country and new sectors, forming the US Steel Corporation (1901). Later after his defeat, Carnegie devoted himself to his philanthropic activity helping society by creating public areas towards education mainly.