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Primary sourceBook1886

Triumphant Democracy; or, Fifty Years' March of the Republic

Andrew Carnegie · 1886

Andrew Carnegie's 1886 book praising American republican government and industrial growth over Britain's monarchy.

Carnegie wrote this book himself, expressing his immigrant patriotism and belief in American industrial and political progress.

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Solid red book cover with a white Library of Congress barcode label in the lower left corner. The label reads LIBRARY OF CONGRESS above a barcode and the number 00003491833, with a red dot on the right.
Andrew Carnegie, Triumphant Democracy; or, Fifty Years' March of the Republic, 1886.

About this source

What it is

Triumphant Democracy is a book written by Andrew Carnegie, published in 1886, comparing the rapid growth of the United States in population, wealth and industry to the slower progress of older European nations such as France and Great Britain.

Why it matters

The book reveals Carnegie's deep patriotism for his adopted country and his belief that republican democracy produced faster progress than monarchy. As a Scottish immigrant who became one of America's wealthiest industrialists, Carnegie used the book to argue that the American system, not inherited privilege, explained the nation's success.

Look closer

  • Why might an immigrant be especially eager to praise the country he moved to over the one he left?
  • What kind of evidence does Carnegie use to compare nations, and what might he be leaving out?
  • How might someone living in Britain or France at the time have responded to this book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Carnegie on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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