Robbing the working class was consistent with Carnegie’s philosophy for societal progress, in which wealth ideally accumulated only with a few. In his influential piece, “Gospel of Wealth,” Carnegie claims that “the best interests of the race are promoted” when society “inevitably gives wealth to the few.” His view of a thriving and progressing society was one where “the laws of accumulation will be left free” and the few and competent are worthy of mass wealth. This vision of inequitable accumulation most clearly crystallized in Carnegie’s encounter with labor relations in Braddock. After the workers successfully negotiated a decreased workday and an increase in hires in 1886, Carnegie was eager to end the union altogether. When the union