Is It Possible to Move from One Social Class to Another in Society and Improve One's Social Standing?
IS IT POSSIBLE TO MOVE FROM ONE SOCIAL CLASS TO ANOTHER IN SOCIETY AND IMPROVE ONE’S SOCIAL STANDING?
John Luffe
Western Pennsylvania has had probably more than its fair share of industrial tycoons who started out
poor and made their fortunes in many different ways, especially during the time of America’s Industrial
Revolution. There were many local giants of industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that I believe
left indelible impressions on our Western Pennsylvania area, the United States of America, and the world
community. In this paper I will discuss how one of these titans of the Industrial Revolution, Henry John
Heinz, made his wealth, rose from poor to upper class in society, and was able to give something back to
less fortunate people through his many philanthropic endeavors. The many captains of industry during this time
period made their fortunes differently, had their own special philosophies or ideas of the work ethic and handling
their newly found wealth, responded quite differently to their employees’ wishes and demands, and handled their
money creatively when it particularly came to charitable causes. H.J. Heinz was a unique man for his time.
Henry John Heinz was born on October 11, 1844 to Anna Margaretha Schmitt and John Henry
Heinz. Both of Heinz’s parents had recently immigrated to the United States from Germany and
settled in the then Birmingham district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of their nine children
and they nicknamed him Harry. Upon his birth, his mother determined that Harry would grow up to become
a Lutheran minister, as they were devoutly religious people. At the age of five, Harry with his parents and
two younger brothers, John and Peter, moved from Birmingham to the village of Sharpsburg, the second
oldest borough of Allegheny County, and about six miles up the Allegheny Valley.
It was in Sharpsburg that “… John Heinz
John Luffe
Western Pennsylvania has had probably more than its fair share of industrial tycoons who started out
poor and made their fortunes in many different ways, especially during the time of America’s Industrial
Revolution. There were many local giants of industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that I believe
left indelible impressions on our Western Pennsylvania area, the United States of America, and the world
community. In this paper I will discuss how one of these titans of the Industrial Revolution, Henry John
Heinz, made his wealth, rose from poor to upper class in society, and was able to give something back to
less fortunate people through his many philanthropic endeavors. The many captains of industry during this time
period made their fortunes differently, had their own special philosophies or ideas of the work ethic and handling
their newly found wealth, responded quite differently to their employees’ wishes and demands, and handled their
money creatively when it particularly came to charitable causes. H.J. Heinz was a unique man for his time.
Henry John Heinz was born on October 11, 1844 to Anna Margaretha Schmitt and John Henry
Heinz. Both of Heinz’s parents had recently immigrated to the United States from Germany and
settled in the then Birmingham district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of their nine children
and they nicknamed him Harry. Upon his birth, his mother determined that Harry would grow up to become
a Lutheran minister, as they were devoutly religious people. At the age of five, Harry with his parents and
two younger brothers, John and Peter, moved from Birmingham to the village of Sharpsburg, the second
oldest borough of Allegheny County, and about six miles up the Allegheny Valley.
It was in Sharpsburg that “… John Heinz
Cited: Alberts, Robert C. The Good Provider: H.J. Heinz and His 57 Varieties. Boston: Mifflin Co, 1973. Anderson, Albert. "Aristotle and the Ethics of Philanthropy." Burlingame, Dwight F. The Responsibilities of Wealth. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992. 55. Carnegie, Andrew. Burlingame, Dwight F. The Responsibilities of Wealth. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992. Karl, Barry D. "Andrew Carnegie and His Gospel of Philanthropy." Burlingame, Dwight F. The Responsibilities of Wealth. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992. Kendall, Diana. " Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption." Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2007. 342. Mantsios, Gregory. "Class in America ---2003." Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2007. 310. Riley, Jonathan. "Philanthropy under Capitalism." Burlingame, Dwight F. The Responsibilities of Wealth. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1992. 71.