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People and Events |
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Andrew
Carnegie Louise - wife Margaret -
daughter Tom Carnegie
– brother, chairman of board Built 2,800
libraries Donated 8,000
organs Carnegie
Institute of Technology – became Carnegie Mellon University |
Henry Clay
Frick – main manufacturer of coke Adelaide –
wife Martha –
daughter, died 1981 Henry Clay
Frick Jr. – died Helen Clay -
daughter Childs – son Alexander
Berkman – assassin Art collector
– Frick Collection in New York Frick Nature
Preserve |
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Others |
Homestead Plant |
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Henry
Bessemer – change iron into steel Edgar
Thompson |
Captain Jones Charales
Schwab – replaced Jones John Potter –
replaced Schwab as superintendent 1892 Amalgamate
Assoc. of Iron and Steel Workers of the US 1987 –
American Federation of Labor |
|
Companies |
Homestead Strike |
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Frick Coke
Company Carnegie,
Phipps and Company 1886 Carnegie
Brothers and Company 1889 Frick –
chairman and 11% interest Carnegie
Steel – merger of Carnegie, Phipps and Carnegie Bros. and Co. Charles
Schwab – president United States
Steel Corporation 1900 $480,000,000
to buy out Carnegie and family Charles
Schwab – president 2 years Elbert H.
Gray – president 26 years Henry Clay
Frick – board member |
William
McCleary – sheriff Allegheny County Samuel Cluely
– chief deputy Pinkertons –
strike breakers, July 5, called in by Frick July 1982 Hugh
O’Donnell – spoke for workers National
Guard General
Snowden |
For Discussion:
NOTE: Page numbers come from the 2005 paperback edition.
1.
Carnegie did not approve of Frick’s methods
during the strike. He said he would have
shut down the mill and waited for workers to ask to come back under his
terms. Would this have worked?
2.
Carnegie was in Scotland for most (if not all)
of the problems and strike. Would it
have made a difference if he was here?
3.
In 1868 Carnegie wrote himself a letter in which
he wrote “the amassing of wealth is one of the worst species of idolatry (page
39). How do you think he justified his
actions regarding money during his life?
4.
Both Carnegie and Frick grew up without much and
they both got opportunities to rise up from their current state. Do you think they felt they provided the same
opportunities for others? If not, how
did they justify their actions?
5.
A major difference between the two was that
Frick was “a man willing to take considerable risk in defense of his
principles” (page 81), while Carnegie’s “self-interest reigned supreme” (page
81). How did this difference affect their
actions and futures?
6.
Carnegie’s business plan was to focus on “what
it cost to produce goods than in revenues or profits” (page 89). How did this influence his decisions during
the strike?
7.
When Captain Jones was plant manager, he
realized that it was counter-productive to have men working 12 hours a
day. When the work was divided into
8-hour days, the output increased without any increased cost of salaries. Why did Carnegie go back to the 12-hour
shifts after the strike.
8.
After the strike the workers’ conditions
declined: wages down by one-half, the minimum basis for wages was discontinued,
and they went back to the 12-hour day working seven days a week. How could Carnegie and Frick justify this?
9.
If the reader is not from Pittsburgh, what do
you think they learned about our city?
For example, on page 17 the author mentioned KDKA as the first radio
station and Dr. Jonas Salk developing the polio vaccine at the University of
Pittsburgh.
10.
If you are from Pittsburgh, what did you read
that was new or interesting? For
example, did you realize the Frick Building built in 1900 at 22 stories was
designed to overshadow the 15 story Carnegie building next to it?
11.
Discuss your reading experience. Did you like how in Chapter Two the author
gave some historical background? Did
this add to your reading?
12.
Out of This Furnace, by Thomas Bell, started
in 1900 and was set in the Pittsburgh steel mills. Did reading this book give you any additional
insights into the lives of the steelworkers?
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