Course Instructor: Robert Dunn
Andrew Carnegie was a central part of the U.S. Industrial Revolution. Carnegie was born in 1835 in Scotland and immigrated to the U.S. in 1848. Unparalleled business success in oil, railroads, and steel making led to Carnegie becoming the richest man in the world in 1901 when J.P. Morgan purchased Carnegie Steel for $480 million. The class will examine his impacts on labor issues, immigration, industrial organization, and the environment among other things. The main text for the course will be Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw, the definitive biography of Carnegie's life. This will be supplemented with film documentaries and other readings. In addition, we will examine The Gospel of Wealth and Carnegie's determination to donate his entire fortune by the time of his death in 1919. This will include discussion of numerous charitable foundations and travel to selected sites in the Pittsburgh that are central to Carnegie's impact on the region. His specific ideas on giving and community service resonate today as wealthy individuals like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have demonstrated intent to donate vast sums of their respective fortunes to worthy causes and have convinced other billionaires to follow.
Students who take this course must also enroll in the designated section of Principles of Microeconomics (ECN 101) as the two courses will be linked.