Challenge: thirteen years old, fresh off the boat from Scotland, twelve-hour shifts in a Pittsburgh cotton mill—pennies in pocket, hunger in belly, accent thick, future thin.
Accountable: didn’t curse the world. Told himself, “When I get to be a man, I’ll cure that poverty.” Owned the grind. No excuses. Just work.
Assimilated: drank America whole—libraries, schools, steel mills. Turned immigrant sweat into rails, bridges, skyscrapers.
Allegiance: gave $350 million back—built 1,689 libraries and public good. Said, “The man who dies rich dies disgraced.”
Permanent: work ethic carved in stone.
Prudent: nickel saved, dime invested—never forgot where he started.
Pragmatic: scrap steel into fortune, then ladders for every kid coming after.
Lemons: child labor, rags.
What he made: doors open forever.
Read more: Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie.
Grateful Immigrant 