Amidst the era of conspicuous consumerism after World War I, Americans displayed their wealth ostentatiously as a mark of their social status. Given this context, Andrew Carnegie felt the need to change the wealthy American’s values in an effort to move from a self-centered form of spending to a more philanthropic use of accumulated wealth. For this purpose, Carnegie used the didactic nature of religious rhetoric in his attempt to bring about the change in values people place on property. He adopted his title, “The Gospel of Wealth” from the gospels of Matthew, Luke, John and Mark. Carnegie accords great power to his argument by accepting the nomenclature from a gospel in the scripture, suggesting parallels with teachings of Jesus. His rhetoric