Carnegie – The Men Who Built America – Steel History Channel

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Notes on the History

Andrew Carnegie was tasked with building a bridge that could cross the mighty Mississippi river. Iron was not strong enough. Steel must be used. Steel is the combination of Iron and Carbon at very high temperatures. It is expensive and time consuming. The Bessemer Process was a new way to make steel in much less time.

What do you do with your fear, use it to motivate you or let it destroy you. The bridge was completed overtime and over budget. To convince people to trust the bridge, he used an elephant. The location was Saint Louis, Missouri.

Carnegie then began to receive orders for the new steel. Tom Scott helped him raise 20 million dollars to build the largest steel plant in the country. The railroads needed the steel for the Western expansion.

The railroads raised the rates on the oil shipment deal. Rockefeller pulled his oil off the trains and built his own pipelines. The railroad business could not sustain itself shipping products across the country. They were losing money. The railroads no longer needed the steel. Tom Scott lost everything including his life. Scott was Carnegie’s mentor from a young man. He vowed revenge on Rockefeller how had destroyed his mentor. Rockefeller provided oil to light the nation, keresene.

Railroads connected the East to the West coast. The country enters a Depression. Carnegie begins to sell steel for the construction of skyscrapers. The first skyscraper was in Chicago. America grew up vertically on Carnegie Steel. The skyscraper boom made Carnegie wealthy. Rockefeller is still 7X wealthier.

Henry Frick, a wealthy midwestern coal provider, is hired by Andrew Carnegie to handle the dirty work. Cut costs and eliminate waste was his mandate. But, he was an unprincipled. This turned out to be a big mistake. The country needed steel for skyscraper construction. But, there is always a limit. Carnegie and Frick bought out the competion. Frick cut costs and increased production. Frick was made Chairman. Frick builds a social club at South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. South Fork, Pennsylvania contains the dam. Frick owns the dam and refuses to increase the strength of the dam. He actually weakens the dam. When the rain began, there was no stopping the water heading for Johnstown. More than 2000 people died. The Johnstown flood was the worse manmade disaster until 9/11. The members of the club were blamed for Southfork.

Carnegie gave money to thousands of libraries across the country to rehabilitate his image. He resigned from the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. Carnegie Hall became the new home for the New York Performing Arts. John D Rockefeller was still worth three times what Carnegie was worth. Steel became the standard for construction.

Construction took place from one coast to another. Oil was at war with Steel. Carnegie wanted more profitability to exceed Rockefeller’s wealth. The Homestead Steel Works was a marvel. He reduced wages and increased working hours. Frick is given the green light to decrease expenses and increase production including 12 shifts. Working conditions were deplorabled. Frick hated Labor Unions. Carnegie took a trip to Scotland to allow Frick to implement draconian measures in union strike busting. Frick brought in the Pinkertons. State Militia was needed to restore order. Because of that the Anarchists became active. It was a publicity nightmare that resulted in nine deaths and the attempted murder of Frick.

Bruce R. Franklin, # Seeker, OCPA, USNAAA, NALA, PADI, USGA, CSULB, USAF, USN,