At 25, Lauder opened a shop on 8 High Street Dunfermline (which still stands today, although it is now a café) which would become a de facto school for his nephew and son.

Lauder was closely aligned with his father-in-law, the "fiery orator" Bailie Thomas Morrison, who led the advanced wing of the Radicals in the region.

[citation needed] When the Carnegie family decided to move to the United States, they were struggling to make ends meet.

[4] While maintaining correspondence with his young nephew, Lauder groomed his son George as an engineer which led to him working with Lord Kelvin at Glasgow University.

Carnegie was determined to have a positive effect on the world and provide opportunities for education for all to level the playing field.