Big Business
Andrew Carnegie, born in Scotland in 1835, settled in Pennsylvania with his family at the age of 13. He started off working in a cotton factory, later moving to a telegraph company. Here he met Thomas Scott who hired him as a secretary and telegrapher. Scott was a superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh division. When Scott moved up to become general superintendent for the railroad, Carnegie, at the age of 24, took over his position within the Pittsburgh division. Carnegie worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad for 12 years, leaving in 1865 (Biography.com, 2010).
His first steps toward big business were his investments in a sleeping car company and oil. Both investments paid off handsomely (n.d.). Then, in 1864, he turned towards the iron business. He had contracts with the railroad to build new bridges out of iron replacing the existing wooden ones. In 1872, Carnegie learned the Bessemer process which converted iron into steel. Steel was more flexible than iron and lasted longer (PBS, 1999). In 1875 he opened the biggest steel mill in the world. His final step toward being one of the wealthiest men in the nation was expansion. He bought competitor mills and built new ones. By doing this he had control over the industry and could ensure profits at all stages (Davidson, Gienapp, Heyrman, Lytle, Stoff 2006). In 1901, Carnegie sold his business to J.P. Morgan for $480 million (PBS, 1999).
The reason Carnegie did so well is because he knew business. He took advantage of the economy and bought things when they were the cheapest. By doing this he could keep cost down and sell at prices below what his competitors were selling. “For every step of the process, he owned exactly what he needed: the raw materials, ships and railroads for transporting the goods, and even coal fields to fuel the steel furnaces. This start-to-finish strategy helped Carnegie become the dominant force in the industry and an exceedingly wealthy man. By 1889, Carnegie Steel Corporation was the largest of its kind in the world” (Biography.com 2010).
Carnegie’s way of doing business changed how businesses were ran across the nation. Integration became a way of life for many businesses. There was such competition amongst them that they often had to join with other companies to prevent going under. Smaller companies were losing out to larger ones who had more money and better assets. The larger companies had the money to buy out smaller ones making the competition nonexistent. The only way for these smaller companies to remain was to join with other smaller companies until they eventually reached the size of the larger ones. This was the only way they could keep their business alive. For those that chose not to integrate with other companies, they often went out of business because they could not keep up with the wealthier companies. Integration hurt small business.
The steel industry has had a positive influence on today’s society. Buildings and bridges are made out of steel creating more job opportunity. With more and more steel being used, there are fewer trees being cut down for building purposes. Steel lasts longer and is more durable than wood. Also, with the need of wood decreasing, it has saved our tree population. This natural resource could not sustain its use if it were not replaced with other materials.
There are many pros and cons to 19th Century big business. Large business corporations provided many more jobs than a small family owned operation could. Machinery becomes easier to purchase making production much faster bringing in more money for the corporation and making the job of the workers easier. This meant less hours at work and more hours spent at home with the family. Big business also joined this country with other countries that we were not able to work within the past. With mass production and transportation now available, the finished product could be shipped all over the world.
Even with all the positive that big business brought to society it also brought negative aspects. Small businesses often had to integrate with other businesses in order to stay alive as mentioned above. It would be impossible for small businesses to compete with larger ones without the combined resources of others. Larger, integrated companies had more money in their pocket and more available creditors to help them with building their businesses even stronger.
Andrew Carnegie was a very wealthy man. With his wealth he brought many changes to this country. Our country has grown immensely because of people like Carnegie who stepped out on the ledge and dared to be different.

References
Andrew Carnegie. (2010). Biography.com. Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/articles/Andrew-Carnegie-9238756
Andrew Carnegie. (n.d.). U-S-History.com. Retrieved from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h981.html Davidson, J., Gienapp, W., Heyrman, C., Lytle, M., & Stoff, M. (2006). Nation of nations: A concise narrative of the American Republic (4th ed. Vols. 1, 2, and Combined). Boston: McGraw Hill
PBS. (1999). American Experience. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande01.html