Question 1
What was the central thesis of “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie?
Question 2
How do the failures of Andrew Carnegie reflect the failure of America in the Gilded Age? What were the social and econimic consequences of the Gospel of Wealth and the huge concentrations of capital in the late nineteenth century?
Question 3
Who was the original audience of “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie?
Answer to question 1
The central thesis of Andrew Carnegie’s essay ”The Gospel of Wealth” (1889) is that those who attain massive wealth throughout their lives are bound to contribute to the good of society by donating large amounts of this wealth. Carnegie thus argued against the wealthy passing all of their money to heirs and instead emphasized that the wealthy had a moral duty to aid society through contributing their funds. Thus, Carnegie’s work is a foundational text in arguments for philanthropy.
Answer to question 2
Press Ctrl + F and type Andrew Carnegie. Right next to that sentence you will find your answer.
For the Gospel Wealth, look it up at Answers.com and
type Gospel Wealth, and read carefully what page or information your looking for base on the links provided. Then type Ctrl + F and type what ever information your looking for base on a textual word. So type econimic, and something pops out, then read that sentence or so.
Answer to question 3
The original intended audience for Carnegie’s ”Gospel of Wealth” can be determined based on (1) the main point of the essay and (2) the essay’s original place of publication: in the essay, Carnegie argues that it is the ethical duty of the wealthy to donate a majority of their wealth to society; Carnegie’s essay was first published in a New England publication called the North American Review in 1889. The North American Review was a prestigious literary journal that was mostly read by upper-class members of society—readers who were relatively wealthy and had a high level of education. Considering both of these factors, the original audience of the ”Gospel of Wealth” was likely upper-class (wealthy), well-educated Americans living primarily in the northeast.