Andrew Carnegie Was a Bit of a Git Wasn't He?

Andrew Carnegie? What do you think about this most famous Scottish American from Dunfermline? Scottish history tour guide, Bruce Fummey, takes you to the Carnegie Birthplace Museum and his most valuable legacy to his home town to look at a complex character.
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Scotland History Tours is here for people who want to learn about Scottish history and get ideas for Scottish history tours. I try to make videos which tell you tales from Scotland's past and give you information about key dates in Scottish history and historical places to visit in Scotland. Not all videos are tales from Scotland's history, some of them are about men from Scotland's past or women from Scotland's past. Basically the people who made Scotland. From April 2020 onward I've tried to give ideas for historic days out in Scotland. Essentially these are days out in Scotland for adults who are interested in historical places to visit in Scotland.
As a Scottish history tour guide people ask: Help me plan a Scottish holiday, or help me plan a Scottish vacation if your from the US. So I've tried to give a bit of history, but some places of interest in Scotland as well.

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  • @ScotlandHistoryTours
    @ScotlandHistoryTours6 ай бұрын

    Upcoming Live shows www.brucefummey.co.uk/shows.aspx Another Scotsman who made Pittsburg kzread.info/dash/bejne/lKymxaOzlbmac8o.html Buy me coffee at www.buymeacoffee.com/ScottishBruce

  • @mungmungie

    @mungmungie

    5 ай бұрын

    And Vancouver? I notice it's not listed on your link.

  • @janethollman7894

    @janethollman7894

    5 ай бұрын

    Bruce I am so sorry but l don’t think we will make your show in Lossie tomorrow. It’s another day away so everything is crossed that l might be better. If you ever do a recording please let me know as l could get to see you that way. We are not sure what I have a cold or covid but either way l don’t want to spread it around. Covid test kits are on the way from Amazon. Once again sorry to let you down. Jan

  • @bobb800

    @bobb800

    2 ай бұрын

    😊

  • @user-pt3gi5ul2e
    @user-pt3gi5ul2e5 ай бұрын

    "The nobles and capitalists have more in common with the dole scroungers than with any of us in the middle." Ya done it again, Bruce! (The small Iowa town where I grew up also has a Carnegie Library.)

  • @Calum_S
    @Calum_S6 ай бұрын

    I learned Andrew Carnegie's name from Billy Connolly. I think the line was "people were so poor they could afford shoes, but Carnegie gave them libraries".

  • @Paulftate

    @Paulftate

    6 ай бұрын

    Guilty conscience

  • @ElffQueen1

    @ElffQueen1

    6 ай бұрын

    Couldn't

  • @Paulftate

    @Paulftate

    6 ай бұрын

    @@ElffQueen1 hobnobbing with the royalty while making his money off the backs of others ..... no wonder he immigrated to America

  • @theoztreecrasher2647

    @theoztreecrasher2647

    5 ай бұрын

    @@ElffQueen1 "Couldn't"? Not to Americans I'm afraid. Their usage of English has become so "Illegitimized" that the negative is very often omitted. CF "I could care less what you think" when it is quite clear that they mean "I could NOT care less what you think!" Have some sympathy for the poor degenerate idiots. 😜😂😂

  • @faithlesshound5621

    @faithlesshound5621

    5 ай бұрын

    I too benefitted from one of Carnegie's libraries, a grand but gloomy Victorian edifice which overshadowed the village library I patronised on alternate Saturdays. When work took me back there 20 years later, I was sad to see that the case of bound volumes of the classics in Greek and Latin had been swept away. Instead there were shelves of cassettes and videotapes. For a couple of decades, public libraries were replacing books by computers, but after a period of cutting their hours, towns are increasingly selling the buildings and dumping the books. Originally Carnegie's gift came with the condition that the town contributed to the building costs too, and some towns hesitated before making a commitment. We know what they would decide given the same offer today.

  • @chrisball3778
    @chrisball37785 ай бұрын

    Carnegie is an utterly fascinating character. The fact he was such a contrary mix of good and bad impulses is both very relatable and very confusing. Few people are either out-and-out heroes or out-and-out villains- most of us are somewhere in the middle. But Carnegie managed to be 'somewhere in the middle' on a truly epic scale. And say what you will, but those libraries he bought us are really nice.

  • @danielhoulihan7769
    @danielhoulihan77695 ай бұрын

    I'm from Pittsburgh and as a younger person worked within sight of the Homestead strike killings. In actuality Carnegie hired a thug named Frick to manage the Homestead works. Only then did he return to Scotland. He knew full well what Frick was capable of doing and ultimately did. Ensconced in Scotland Carnegie could feign horror at the bloodshed.

  • @edithengel2284

    @edithengel2284

    5 ай бұрын

    Frick was responsible for the thuggery, no question, but he was already a tycoon himself when he became Carnegie's partner, and eventually became the largest railway stock owner in the world. A man of the same unhappy ilk as Carnegie--tycoon/philanthropist/enemy of organized labor.

  • @toddsager2430

    @toddsager2430

    5 ай бұрын

    Frick was also responsible for the Johnstown flood. Southwestern pa is littered with those scars to this day. Im Also from Pittsburgh

  • @kenbrown2808
    @kenbrown28085 ай бұрын

    the question that has to be asked is, "do the ends justify the means?" I've always felt that impoverishing your workforce so you can give them a handout and brag about how generous you are is a bit of a shell game. and I'm always reminded of the story of the widow's mite. you'd think it's a lot easier to give a million when you have ten million left. but it's not. meanwhile, you'll see people give a dollar (or a pound) when they only have ten left.

  • @RichWoods23

    @RichWoods23

    5 ай бұрын

    It's a well-established fact that poor people tend to be more generous than wealthy people, in proportion to what they have. It's almost like empathy decreases as the distance from the struggle to keep a roof over your head increases.

  • @kenbrown2808

    @kenbrown2808

    5 ай бұрын

    @@RichWoods23 or, the more wealth you have, the more temptation there is to fixate on it.

  • @lenabreijer1311

    @lenabreijer1311

    5 ай бұрын

    For a lot of people money is like the LOTR ring. Once they have a lot of it they get fixated on it. It makes them think they are special, more intelligent when all they are is lucky (there are studies on this). They also want to control who gets their money, "deserving" people. That is why it is easier to fund libraries, they are for educated people who can read.

  • @kenbrown2808

    @kenbrown2808

    5 ай бұрын

    @@lenabreijer1311 indeed.

  • @stevenfaber3896
    @stevenfaber38965 ай бұрын

    Pittsburgher here. I feel like this is a nice change of an accurate portrayal of the man as a flawed individual, rather than the greatest magnate to ever attract money we are sometimes fed in our local schools.

  • @alansmithee8831
    @alansmithee88316 ай бұрын

    A'reyt Bruce. Carnegie Hall. I knew you were destined for greatness.

  • @gailsears2913
    @gailsears29136 ай бұрын

    Very interesting side of history not taught when I was in American school. Didn't take much history in college or might have learned more. I was raised by my dad's union salary. If workers are taken care of by employers, they have more loyalty. Give them the salary to make their own decisions, and the boss can still give away his excess.

  • @macgp44

    @macgp44

    5 ай бұрын

    As an American, I can corroborate that the history of labor struggles and union formation is given very little or no coverage in school, not even at the university level. Also, Hollywood has made very few movies that deal with this topic, despite it's fertile ground for the type of conflict that produces great drama and great heroes. The reason being that the people that are able to fund multi-million dollar movies have an incentive not to make such stories. They prefer to make films about the oppression of LGBTQ, racial minorities, and similar themes, or fantasy stories from Marvel Comics.

  • @alistairthow1384

    @alistairthow1384

    5 ай бұрын

    To paraphrase G H W Bush, we are not interested in the Struggles of the Waltons, but prefer the buffonary of the Simpsons. History is vitally important in shaping young minds, therefore it must be twisted to suit the rulers.😮

  • @oldgrizz8720
    @oldgrizz87205 ай бұрын

    I'm of Scotts-Irish descent and grew up in Pittsburgh just a mile or so from Homestead where my family worked in the mills. The Carnegie was equally praised and condemned. Where I served my internship for the ministry was in the town where Carnegie built his first library and public swimming pool, and donated his first pipe organ to a local church. My great-grandparents lived in the town named after Carnegie. Great video. And like you, I too often heard the response "Who do you think I am, Andrew Carnegie?"

  • @MichaelMikeTheRussianBot

    @MichaelMikeTheRussianBot

    Ай бұрын

    I'm from Binghamton, & Ed Link [backyard neighbor when I was little, in an ordinary neighborhood {his place WAS nice!}] ,inventor of flight simulators, SCUBA, mini-subs, & much more, contributed as much (including pipe organs [he was a fan/hobbyist] & maintained them himself) to the community, while paying well, being on a first name basis w/ ~ all employees, & didn't kill any of them. ;) The ruthless was NOT necessary. ;)

  • @gav2759
    @gav27596 ай бұрын

    I have always wanted to think the best of Andrew Carnegie, he gave my mother a school bag. Over the years though, I swung this way and that, each time I learned more about him. That apart, I had a good laugh at "I'm not Carnegie" which was commonly heard in my youth....apparently the satchel didn't come stuffed with cash.

  • @davidwatts2963
    @davidwatts29636 ай бұрын

    Thank you for telling us stories!

  • @TheoTheTimeTravelingMagician
    @TheoTheTimeTravelingMagician6 ай бұрын

    Best channel ever. Brilliant. Thank you for doing what you do.

  • @Calum_S

    @Calum_S

    6 ай бұрын

    I'll second this 🙋

  • @davohl1
    @davohl15 ай бұрын

    As a lifelong (56 years) resident of the Pittsburgh area, may I say how pleased I am to hear the proper pronunciations of Carnegie and Pittsburgh in this video. Americans from outside of this region emphasize the wrong syllable in "Carnegie", and 99.99999% of Pittsburghers don't even know to pronounce "Pittsburgh" with the same ending as "Edinburgh". The Carnegie name has been with me my entire life. I grew up in a township that bordered Carnegie Borough (where the local post office was located, so Carnegie was part of our mailing address). Over the years I have visited the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums many times; one of my children now works at the Carnegie. The part of the video that hits home for me most of all is the discussion of Andrew Carnegie as an employer. My great-grandfather was a former Pittsburgh police officer who took a job as Captain of the Mill Police at a Carnegie steel mill several miles north of Pittsburgh. He was killed in a riot that broke out during a strike in 1906. Some people might think he was on the wrong side, but he was making a living to support his wife and five young children when his life was taken from him. There are so many sides to every story.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    😪

  • @erinmac4750

    @erinmac4750

    5 ай бұрын

    Thank you for sharing your story. There's so much many of us don't know about our country's history. I knew about the strike and AG's philanthropy, but there's so much more when you get to the lives of everyday people living through these events. I try to remember these anecdotal stories people share here to share with my students when relevant. It helps them better connect with the reality of the past. 🍀✌️😎🍏

  • @paddyo3841

    @paddyo3841

    5 ай бұрын

    Love your channel

  • @MichaelMikeTheRussianBot

    @MichaelMikeTheRussianBot

    Ай бұрын

    He was still on the wrong side. ;) The fault lay with his superiors, but doesn't change that part of it.

  • @michellerhodes9910
    @michellerhodes99106 ай бұрын

    Bruce, that is exactly how I learned of his name as a wee gang of siblings harangued our pretty Scots mum for 'goodies'. 'Who do think I am, Carnegie'? This is too thought provoking for an unconsidered response really. Should wealth be individual or collective. My working-class upbringing was full of such considerations. Great video.

  • @ThatElfTorunn
    @ThatElfTorunn6 ай бұрын

    Another installment of weekly Fummey history goodness. 🎉

  • @AmandaRandomQueenofMars

    @AmandaRandomQueenofMars

    6 ай бұрын

    It’s how I spend my Saturday mornings!!! Bruce and my coffee!!!

  • @tiffanyannhowe1712
    @tiffanyannhowe17126 ай бұрын

    Wuhu! Saturday morning means a Bruce video!! It’s like…Saturday morning cartoons when I was a child. So excited!! 🖤

  • @edithengel2284
    @edithengel22845 ай бұрын

    Thanks! Great video. I have noticed over time that philanthropists are generally funded by earning a lot of money at the expense of other people. Even Scrooge follows this pattern. We couldn't have the happy ending, saving Tiny Tim, without Scrooge having gouged out his fortune from those who couldn't afford it before the advent of the three spirits.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Thank YOU

  • @RL-nl2xe
    @RL-nl2xe5 ай бұрын

    Love your show. Just watched the episode about Andrew Carnegie. Now it just so happens I'm from the Pittsburgh area and well know the history of the Homestead strike and the involvement of the Pinkerton's. In a curious case of coincidence I once worked at a law firm in Dallas, TX. One of the firm's partners was a man named Pinkerton. One day I was in his office and noticed a stack of old books sitting on a table. I asked him what the books were and he responded they were about the Pinkerton Detective Agency and the role HIS ANCESTOR played in the creation of the agency. He then asked me if I'd ever heard of the Pinkerton's. In my mind, I remembered the stories about the Pinkerton's and Homestead. Discretion, as they say, is the better part of valor - I responded simply and somewhat sardonically "Oh yes, I'm quite aware of them. Will there be anything else sir?"

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    😜

  • @GregHarness
    @GregHarness5 ай бұрын

    When I was growing up we went to our local public library which had Carnegie's name on it, so I've known the name since forever. But he was (more than) a bit of git. "People are hungry, so I'll build them a library featuring my name in big letters." [this may not be an exact quote, but it's possible] P.S.I love your pronunciation of Pittsburgh.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    That's the way it's supposed to be pronounced. It was named by a Scotsman😎

  • @crinolynneendymion8755

    @crinolynneendymion8755

    5 ай бұрын

    @@ScotlandHistoryTours Thought it had to be deliberate; a balance for Edinboro...

  • @rebeccaxo7331
    @rebeccaxo73315 ай бұрын

    Really interesting watch, I actually work at Skibo Castle and on the beautiful estate - it's great learning more about Carnegie especially when I spend most of my time in his beloved family home. Even if he was a bit of a git!

  • @hozzer68
    @hozzer686 ай бұрын

    To paraphrase the Billy Connolly joke, the people were cold and hungry what did Andrew Carnegie do ? He gave them a library 😂😂

  • @djscottdog1

    @djscottdog1

    5 ай бұрын

    You get a heat in the library lol

  • @hozzer68

    @hozzer68

    5 ай бұрын

    @@djscottdog1 aye, but your not allowed in without shoes 🤣🤣🤣

  • @SergioArellano-yd7ik

    @SergioArellano-yd7ik

    5 ай бұрын

    Now libraries are used by homeless "people" who sit there all day and can't get kicked out.

  • @sallycripe2697
    @sallycripe26975 ай бұрын

    Interesting perspective. As an adult, my husband and I settled in a small town 40 miles north of Pittsburgh ( hard g, like git). Other than his many libraries and pipe organs in churches, and his huge house, I hadn't really considered him. Thanks, Bruce. Glad you'll be near the Naval Academy next year. Maybe you'll add one closer to me.

  • @dalestaley5637
    @dalestaley56372 ай бұрын

    I'm from Pittsburgh. Carnegie's institutions are everywhere. My sister is a Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie was buddies with my gf, David Provan, a Scot who traveled to America with my grandfather. Carnegie bought my aunt a pram when she was born. My mom told me stories about Andrew Carnegie coming to their home, my gf built and still survives today. Small world we have, Bruce. Thanks for talking about this complex man.

  • @sandylee9564
    @sandylee95646 ай бұрын

    Hi there. Just an FYI, I live in Carnegie, Oklahoma. Go figure! I learn so much from your stories and I look forward to each one. Thank you for what you do with humor, facts and a few funnies thrown in.

  • @pjmoseley243

    @pjmoseley243

    6 ай бұрын

    yes I agree, I also enjoy Brucies stories and I love Scotland and my Scottish friends and relatives. Scotts are so naturale and generouse people and not as some like to portray them. the true English are such nice people as are the Irish and Welsh because I served in the British Army with people from all those home nation and many from other parts of the world including the USA.

  • @sandylee9564

    @sandylee9564

    5 ай бұрын

    Hey there, I just have to tell you that my Dad was military, in the US Air Force and I started school in Edinbrugh when I was 5.....then at 11 we were stationed in England for 3 years...and I totally agree with you about how wonderful the people are in the UK.....I miss it. @@pjmoseley243

  • @Rebecca-le9hn
    @Rebecca-le9hn5 ай бұрын

    There are still a couple of Carnegie libraries here in Philadelphia, PA.

  • @aikidragonpiper71
    @aikidragonpiper716 ай бұрын

    He was constantly competing with John D Rockefeller. He only surpassed Rockefeller in riches when he sold his company to J P Morgan. And then later he competed against Rockefeller , in who can fund more libraries,theaters and more. On the History Channel (The Men Who Built America) they tell the story of Andrew Carnegie,John D Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Henry Ford. I love learning about history . They mention a supervisor that was working for Carnegie that even he considered too tyrannical and how he fired him .

  • @raymondmuench3266

    @raymondmuench3266

    2 ай бұрын

    Git? Likely. But I don’t see Bezos or Musk doing “jack” for the common good. Sooo…

  • @joanneentwistle7653
    @joanneentwistle76535 ай бұрын

    As a Maritimer, I am so happy you are taking your show to the East Coast. We often get overlooked!

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Trust me, you were at the top of my list. Find me a venue and I'll do a show in Sydney and Charlottetown as well

  • @erikawilson1154
    @erikawilson11546 ай бұрын

    I used to get told by my mum. When I asked for something. "Your dad isn't Andrew carnegie". No. My dad is Andrew Harrower. And I was Born in Dunfermline.

  • @Paulftate

    @Paulftate

    6 ай бұрын

    does that suppose to mean something .... or,, you just saying

  • @erikawilson1154

    @erikawilson1154

    6 ай бұрын

    The Glen is my favourite place to be.

  • @erikawilson1154

    @erikawilson1154

    6 ай бұрын

    And we got our wedding photos taken at the ruined Palace.

  • @erikawilson1154

    @erikawilson1154

    6 ай бұрын

    @@Paulftate just saying

  • @Paulftate

    @Paulftate

    6 ай бұрын

    @@erikawilson1154 congratulations .... so,,,, you local .... old country always fascinated me ....

  • @nancyholcombe8030
    @nancyholcombe80305 ай бұрын

    Thank you Bruce for the excellent video on American baron and Scotland's own Andrew Carnegie. He was the example that I grew up with as my upper middle class parents tried to use schools and charm to push me into the upper class. (And they wanted me to marry into it!) These days, I'm poor as a churchmouse so it obviously didn't happen, lol! The main reason is surprising though: my father took me out of university because he wouldn't understand that my skillset was different ftom his, but that didn't mean I wouldn't do as well with it! Carnegie was one of many American barons born out of the lack of laws at the turn of the century. And, like most who are self-made, they think they know how to better handle the money than others. Judging by his accomplishments, he may have been right! But, he was the only one of the American barons who genuinely thought of giving back to the people he came from! He did this in America as well as Scotland. His gifts of books and public lands seem trivial to us now but we have no idea how many poor folks read those free books and dreamed in those lands to become the success that they are today! Carnegie was honestly harsh and then later repentant of what his harshness brought. He would admit that he knew no better way than what he had done but did huge gifts and other charity trying to deal with the problems that he knew he created. My father didn't let me get my degree in what I was naturally good at and there no programs back then that would allow me to go forward as I wanted to, so we never found out if I would've done better. Given the two types of charity, I'll take Carnegie's. Nobody is perfect but he did more with more when most do nothing but keep it for themselves. He left more than gifts, he left his successes, his failures and his beliefs that came from them. If Carnegie's sense of giving back in order to level the playing field was practiced by all who could do it, the world would be more equal and tolerance of differences in opinion an easier reality to accomplish. It wouldn't be perfect but I honestly think it would be better. Oh yeah, I wanted to change my degree at university from accounting, where I was adequate, to history, which has always been my first love. Do tell!!!😆😆😆

  • @erinmac4750

    @erinmac4750

    5 ай бұрын

    Well said! You do have a way with words. They say it's never too late, which is never that easy. But if you get the chance get that history degree. This country can always use history teachers and historians with good perspectives and hearts. 🍀✌️😎

  • @kashishimotohoward
    @kashishimotohoward5 ай бұрын

    Before I even watched this video, I was thinking you should come to Pittsburgh 😊 At least come to the place where we have a university, a museum, library, and a science center named after him, oh yeah, a small town also! I'd love to see you live ✊🏾👍🏾

  • @brianstewart3206
    @brianstewart32065 ай бұрын

    At least he gave us a venue in Dunfermline for a barry show last weekend from Mr Fummey✊🏻

  • @sweatymrkim4578
    @sweatymrkim45786 ай бұрын

    Nobody attains such wealth and power by being nice. Especially from his era.

  • @harrybruijs2614

    @harrybruijs2614

    6 ай бұрын

    In no era only when you have herited it. Than they still mostly are entitled bastards

  • @edbop
    @edbop6 ай бұрын

    power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

  • @calicomist9213
    @calicomist92135 ай бұрын

    Terrific video! Lots of questions to think about. I have two masters degrees-my love for books and access to them through libraries was thanks to Andrew Carnegie. I often visited a library in Huntington WV where Carnegie donated $25,000 to build the building which opened in 1904. I became an English teacher and and have taught hundreds and thousands - which reminds me of the question about whether 'tis nobler to work as a doctor or make enough money to educate 100 doctors to work in your place. It was a different time, yes-for one there was no income tax then-but I wonder what I will do to make life better for future generations. Perhaps this was a type of penance for him, who knows. Personally, I think knowing Scotland's history of struggle and knowing that people have hard times had something to do decision to engage in philanthropy. No one ever went hungry if one of my Scottish relatives was around. Thanks again for posting.

  • @terraplane49
    @terraplane495 ай бұрын

    I've visited Pittencrieff Park several times, in order to remember the late, great Stuart Adamson. It is one of the loveliest I've ever seen.

  • @euansmith3699
    @euansmith36996 ай бұрын

    "Excuse me, sir, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" "Practice, son, practice."

  • @cynthiabotsko2449
    @cynthiabotsko24495 ай бұрын

    Fascinating exploration of the 2 sides on a single coin 👏 ❤️♾️❤️

  • @jobrien8974
    @jobrien89746 ай бұрын

    Andrew Carnegie was one of United States’s major eugenicist. He used his philanthropic foundations to spread rewritten history all over the world via his libraries.

  • @travismiller5548

    @travismiller5548

    6 ай бұрын

    The corporation and the foundation, his representatives moreso than the man himself.

  • @dabsafe

    @dabsafe

    6 ай бұрын

    Andrew Carnegie had some of his striking workers shot and killed by hired goons. Aye, he was more than a "bit of a git". It's paradoxical that a man that could treat his workers so poorly could be such a philanthropist.

  • @faithlesshound5621

    @faithlesshound5621

    5 ай бұрын

    @@dabsafe The paradox that American businessmen could, in those days, hire a private police force (the Pinkerton "Detective Agency" - in reality more of a private militia) with the right to kill other white men. At that time in the US it was only open season for those with black or red skin.

  • @joanhuffman2166
    @joanhuffman21665 ай бұрын

    He gave my city its most beautiful library. El Paso Texas

  • @djscottdog1
    @djscottdog15 ай бұрын

    He made that musium as a bit of a humble vanity project. Like look how good i am giving stuff to the town and look how humble my beginnings were. That said the pool and public spaces are the best things about Dunfermline. Really enjoyed the show last weekend.

  • @elainewightman2015

    @elainewightman2015

    5 ай бұрын

    I thought it was his widow who built the museum?

  • @cathmackenzie74
    @cathmackenzie745 ай бұрын

    Very thought provoking

  • @JasonDowney
    @JasonDowney4 ай бұрын

    There were some moments here that were so intensely funny that I burst. Fantastic writing, great work👏👏👏

  • @mattySSCOT
    @mattySSCOT3 ай бұрын

    That's so surreal to see, I've stumbled by this house so many times drunk coming back home from a night out in town

  • @coniwatson9512
    @coniwatson95125 ай бұрын

    A Bard of our time . Thank you .keep em coming

  • @davide8741
    @davide87415 ай бұрын

    Really enjoyed this take on a person through today's lens. Will probably watch this one again to ponder the questions Bruce raises here. What can and should I do differently? "Charity begins at home, but who is welcome in *your* house?"

  • @gerryphilly53
    @gerryphilly535 ай бұрын

    Thanks again for telling a great story. The good that Carnegie did with his money shows his benevolence and can also be seen as a kind of atonement for the harsh conditions he (and other Gilded Age plutocrats) inflicted on employees. Initially, his endowment of libraries was limited to areas where he had lived, but following his visit to Johnstown, Pennsylvania in the wake of the devastating 1889 flood that killed over 2,000 people, he expanded the program to its eventual world-wide scope.. My local branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia (Falls of Schuylkill AKA East Falls) is a Carnegie endowed structure built in 1911.

  • @damejanea.macdonald2371
    @damejanea.macdonald23715 ай бұрын

    This video was so well-designed to make us think that I nearly got whiplash. Well done on painting the strangeness of humans being complicated.

  • @jumbodoug
    @jumbodoug5 ай бұрын

    My gran used to use Carnegie's name a lot. Another very interesting and thought provoking video.

  • @ambergibson9559
    @ambergibson95595 ай бұрын

    Wow! Thank you so much for the thought provoking questions.

  • @happygrandma5637
    @happygrandma56375 ай бұрын

    I think that maybe the saddest thing about Andrew Carnegie, and any other person like him, is that he probably would have been even richer if he'd shown compassion and a willingness to improve conditions. My paternal grandfather was a shoe cutter in New Hampshire and would tell stories about strikes. Never heard anything as bad as the Homestead goes. Maybe he is to thank for better lighting in factories, better working hours and conditions. Too bad it had to come the way of strikes, fights and death. Lots to think about Bruce, thank you.

  • @bobsteele9581
    @bobsteele95815 ай бұрын

    Brilliant video Bruce. My Mum always said "Who do you think I am, Carnegie?" as well, when I wanted something too expensive as a boy 😂. Other than that I knew he was one of the world's richest men, a philanthropist and had a connection with Dunfermline, but not much more, before seeing your video. Fascinating and informative as always 👍

  • @deejayk5939
    @deejayk59396 ай бұрын

    I’ll never have the money, but I wish I had to make the decision. I try to give what I can❤. Thanks for this!

  • @johnmclaughlin5660
    @johnmclaughlin56605 ай бұрын

    I remember that saying as a wean Bruce ! Cheers fae Erraid !

  • @jamesconnolly3827
    @jamesconnolly38276 ай бұрын

    Another grate tale, I have as a wee boy was told the story of Andrew carnegie by my grandad, and dad both strong union men, and although he may have spent money in his time on the things mentioned he is and was a crook and will never be in my eyes anymore than that, I as a proud T.U. official and NUM. representative will never see him and his kind as any thing more than an exploiter killer of worker's and as I said before crook.

  • @user-ik2db9ww5v
    @user-ik2db9ww5v5 ай бұрын

    Another excellent video Bruce! I like your nuance too in that not everyone or every subject is simple but its important to ask the questions and try to define a better way.

  • @Colin32269
    @Colin322695 ай бұрын

    Great news Bruce,I will be looking forward to your show and meeting you in Ontario in '24.Cheers🎉🎉

  • @jimmyclouston
    @jimmyclouston5 ай бұрын

    your wee stories are brilliant , finally am getting to learn my own history,at school all we were taut was english,french,german and every other history apart from my own,all i was taut was about scara brae which i told myself i would go and see a saw it 3 years ago when i was fishing in orkney,iam 61 , i know about carnegie,and the mines all my family were miners but a was lucky am a brickie,keep up the good work

  • @kirkmorrison6131
    @kirkmorrison61316 ай бұрын

    I wish you would do a big tour that included either Charlotte NC or Columbia South Carolina. I would definitely go to see it

  • @LimeyRedneck
    @LimeyRedneck5 ай бұрын

    I love how this and other videos cover the past, relate that to current events and then reflect on the future! Often with a sense of empathy and sometimes a sprinkling of snark, lol! 🤠 I followed discussions about effective altruism and SBF later on. Seems like a new phrase to justify the olde trickle down theory when we all know that it's only yellow rain that falls on us, not manna from the tables of our betters! The way the economic system(s) are set to work for the already wealthy people, companies and countries is so blatant that a lot of people don't seem to see it. Although we're getting to the point in the cycle where more people are, thankfully!! Time for another great settlement for workers... hopefully. The Pinkerton's history is wild and nasty!!! 🤬 🤠💜

  • @dotmenziesholden1251
    @dotmenziesholden12516 ай бұрын

    Thanks to Carnegie I enjoyed the benefits of a public library growing up, one of several he paid for in Liverpool. He was, like many of his generation, convinced that education and literacy were key to improving the lot of the lower classes

  • @faithlesshound5621

    @faithlesshound5621

    5 ай бұрын

    Unless you use that education to invent something of public benefit, all that education does is lift YOU out of the lower class: it does not help everyone else. That's something that the English working class, which has been involved with industry for three centuries, realised before people in other countries. They DO NOT value education any more than the MAGA crowd does.

  • @stephencorson7572
    @stephencorson75725 ай бұрын

    My great, great grandfather James Clark grew up in Dunfermline, and was the same age as Andrew. His recorded recollections were of going to the Carnegie home after school and having jelly and scones that his mother had made. James eventually came to Philadelphia with his children and started Clark Printing House. I don't know if he kept in touch with his old childhood friend Andrew, but no doubt their connections intertwined throughout their lives here in Pennsylvania.

  • @wiltaylor
    @wiltaylor5 ай бұрын

    "nobility and capitalists have much more in common with dole scroungers" brilliant!

  • @donyoung7874
    @donyoung78745 ай бұрын

    Well done!

  • @mikenelson1495
    @mikenelson14955 ай бұрын

    Mr. Fummey... You blow me away! Too bad you're not performing in Vegas... Or perhaps ye shall ...

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Aye when visas are easier to get and guns are harder😜

  • @elingrome5853
    @elingrome58535 ай бұрын

    The Rockerfellers... now they make Carnegie look like a Saint...

  • @markscott9622
    @markscott96225 ай бұрын

    "Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life!" My Glasgow Granny was family famous for devouring a book each week from the time she was a wee girl of ten in Glasgow, till she was 88 and no longer able to read. She was able to read at ten because her Grandfather and father would take her to a library that Andrew Carnegie paid for. She would find more of his libraries in America. As they still are. And her daughter, my Mom, would even sing at his famous Carnegie Hall in Manhattan. Carnegie, unlike Gould, Rockefeller, or Vanderbilt, had both a soul and conscience.

  • @alanfike
    @alanfike5 ай бұрын

    Wealth isn't a matter of what we have, but a matter of not needing more.

  • @MargaretPinard
    @MargaretPinard5 ай бұрын

    Oooooooh, great find about the ghosts of his own past--the Chartist struggle is so fascinating to me! I've got my fictional family coming back and similarly facing the choice to do better than the people who put them off their land. We need to learn at some point. 🙄

  • @sgr1888
    @sgr18885 ай бұрын

    Thank you Bruce. From Pittsburgh.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    I hope you pronounce it properly😜

  • @harryburrows2112
    @harryburrows21125 ай бұрын

    What a brilliant, insightful and well-balanced video

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Thank you very much

  • @GabrielForth
    @GabrielForth4 ай бұрын

    My parents go to was "My name's Kirk, no Carnegie" as our surname is Kirk. Pittencrieff is wonderful, that and Stephen's Bakery are the two things I miss frem when we lived in Dunfermline.

  • @roseannemain9957
    @roseannemain99575 ай бұрын

    Another great tale Bruce. Love that park. I am not wealthy, working class through and through but I have always given to charities of many kinds throughout my life either time, money or both. I think that it is my duty and privilege to help others where I can. I hope to always be able to do this. I would not feel it was right or fair not to do so. Maybe he felt some of that too. xx

  • @davidwatts2963
    @davidwatts29636 ай бұрын

    The Molly Maguires in Pennsylvania might be of interest?

  • @scottmcmillan7533
    @scottmcmillan75335 ай бұрын

    Great video, Bruce! Always making me rethink/reevaluate my assumptions. Looking forward to seeing you in Halifax (not Yorkshire).

  • @user-sf6su1pq8u
    @user-sf6su1pq8u5 ай бұрын

    Brilliant dissertation, I'm a Yank. Had to use closed caption but enjoyed every provocative word!

  • @schoolingdiana9086
    @schoolingdiana90865 ай бұрын

    Couldn’t reist the title. Knew this would be good! Some excellent nuggets I’ll have to share with my English composition students. I’m going to have to watch this more than once myself.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    It all helps the algorithm😜

  • @kennethmacgregor-Gregorach
    @kennethmacgregor-Gregorach6 ай бұрын

    Well... he was from Fife... and after all, It taks a lang spoon tae sup wi a Fifer

  • @jeanwinders9556
    @jeanwinders95565 ай бұрын

    I personally am quite grateful for Carnegie my Grandfather sought employment & was hired on in Pittsburgh PA. Leaving the shipyards in Glasgow he worked 7 years as a Master Plumber/boilermaker. He then brought my Grandmother with their kids, and sponsored my uncles who chose to immigrate to America (some retired back home). I know that the Scottish workers were treated very well and my Grandfather was recommended for a position in the Navy Shipyard in Boston MA. As a kid, teachers would attempt to correct my pronunciation of Carnegie. Och noo!

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Great

  • @qwertyuiopgarth
    @qwertyuiopgarth5 ай бұрын

    Luck also played some very significant roles in Andrew Carnegie's life. The rich and the capitalists often forget how large a role luck plays in the lives of all of us.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Of course

  • @stevetournay6103
    @stevetournay61035 ай бұрын

    Canada! Nice...I'm in Hamilton, southwest of Toronto, largely founded by Scots. Sir Allan Napier MacNab's 1832 mansion, now a museum, is a block from my house. At least two of our local public libraries bore the Carnegie name.Those two buildings are now a courthouse (in Hamilton) and an art gallery (in Dundas, and called the Carnegie Gallery)...

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    I tried to get in to the wee theatre in Hamilton, but no luck

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    3 ай бұрын

    Finally got a Hamilton venue sorted www.thewestdale.ca/event/stories-of-scotland/

  • @AIGodSkills
    @AIGodSkills5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the great insights . Do you know anything about Agnes Ramsey and King James IV ?

  • @tscarb
    @tscarb5 ай бұрын

    I was in Dumferline in March. Lovely town and wonderful history. I like I liked it better than Edinburgh. It was more homey

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Of course

  • @alanwatson4249
    @alanwatson42496 ай бұрын

    Great stuff. Keep it up.

  • @KathrynRose-schultz-qs6qw
    @KathrynRose-schultz-qs6qw6 ай бұрын

    Well I don’t see Portland Oregon, Seattle on your tour list! If your coming this far, come to the US! Lovin your tales of history!

  • @davidlosey431
    @davidlosey4315 ай бұрын

    I seriously wish you would come to California!

  • @fester73666
    @fester736665 ай бұрын

    Interesting video about Carnegie Bruce 👍👍

  • @cmb9993
    @cmb99935 ай бұрын

    As an American I have been aware of Carnegie most of my life, and even in history classes. I have to admit that I always, to use your expression, considered him 'a bit of a git' as well! One other thing I found particularly interesting about your 'story' was the mention of the Pinkertons Detectives. The Pinkerton name is Scottish I've been told, and I think that would be an interesting story for you also. 😊 (While I am not (to my knowledge)related to THOSE Pinkertons, my grandfather was a Pinkerton.) Please keep your stories coming... I really enjoy the Scots history!

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    I've thought about it

  • @Syl-Vee
    @Syl-Vee5 ай бұрын

    Wonderful work. Thank you! I'm amused that often those who scream loudest about freedom turn out to be among the most ruthless cheaters -- evidently what they really want is the freedom to ruthlessly cheat. Still I'm grateful for the charitable oligarchs and admire the immense faith they have in themselves. Because so many of us don't know what to do with wealth. And so many more give up before they even try to solve a problem.

  • @matthewkostovny7746
    @matthewkostovny77465 ай бұрын

    I grew up and me folks still reside just outside Homestead, PA

  • @marianfrances4959
    @marianfrances49595 ай бұрын

    I'll try catch you in Calgary. In high school Economics class, Carnegie was presented to us as a benevolent Robin Hood of successful capitalism. You make history humorous and quite appealing. Thank you! 👍😎🇨🇦

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Yay, I'll be there on 4th July

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    4 ай бұрын

    Here's a link to Calgary show and tickets www.artscommons.ca/whats-on/stories-of-scotland

  • @AaRoN25790
    @AaRoN257905 ай бұрын

    I've only discovered your videos in recent months, but I'm absolutely loving the history. I travel to a lot of the places you visit, and it's great to have a new perspective on them. Really enjoyed the last 2 videos being local myself from "The Garden City" of Rosyth. I was unable to catch the local show sadly, but I will look out for future local shows. At least the weather stayed nice for a stroll in the Glen.

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Brilliant

  • @O-Dsessyus
    @O-Dsessyus5 ай бұрын

    I’m from Dublin, Swords. There’s a Carnigie Free library in the town, there’s another in up the road, and a couple in some other towns. I guess they’re something to do with him.

  • @raydriver7300
    @raydriver73005 ай бұрын

    Another poignant story with more questions than answers. All the best with your current tour, Bruce. I will get to see you live sometime 🌞

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Fingers crossed!

  • @calgacusofcaledonia
    @calgacusofcaledonia6 ай бұрын

    Very nice 👍

  • @ianpattison841
    @ianpattison8415 ай бұрын

    Another superb and balanced documentary about someone whose name I knew, but not the person behind the name, thank you.

  • @Hero1117a
    @Hero1117a5 ай бұрын

    Luv your stories

  • @ScotlandHistoryTours

    @ScotlandHistoryTours

    5 ай бұрын

    Cheers mate

  • @UshZebra
    @UshZebra5 ай бұрын

    you must come to the Tidemark Theatre in Campbell River!

  • @Paulftate
    @Paulftate6 ай бұрын

    morning,,, sunshine 🤙✌

  • @JohnDoe-cf8jz
    @JohnDoe-cf8jz5 ай бұрын

    This is very interesting video, thank you. I've never heard his name pronounced like that, being Canadian. I live in Scotland now and I'm going to make it a point to visit his birthplace at some point. As for how I feel about him and the responsibilities of money go, I'm a social capitalist, I like a bit of both. A bit like Carnegie I would think.