Social Darwinism And The American Dream: The Gospel Of Wealth

853 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Income distribution and the american dream

In the mid-to-late 1800s there were many social ideas being tossed around. A lot of them were justifications made by people in wealthy positions in what they could do with their extreme wealth while the majority lived in poverty. Darwinism was on the premise that only the fittest should survive. Others were a reaction to needed change. The theory known as the Gospel of Wealth does not give money directly to the poor but gives them the resources to become educated if they work for it. The Second Declaration of Independence worked to give workers some free time and decent wages. The Social Gospel worked to give better housing and unite laborers. Social Darwinism was the least American theory during the Gilded Age and gave an excuse to those with …show more content…

The Social Gospel worked missions to reduce poverty of laborers by calling out for higher wages, keeping children out of harsh labor and by working on getting better housing structures. Social Darwinism is directly opposing the American Dream. Where anyone from anywhere can come to America and can make a decent and better life for themselves. With Darwinism, immigrants coming from elsewhere with nothing but the clothes on their back would be disadvantaged from the start and would stay that way. They would not be given any tools to improve their status, they would just go into the factories and stay the unfit. The Gospel of Wealth and Second Declaration of Independence still follow the American dream. It gives those who want it the resources to become educated and successful as long as they put hard work into it. It also gives them the free time to use those resources and to pay for of them. Aside from Carnegie’s libraries still existing all over, you can still see his social ideas spread throughout America. People now have free time and decent wages comparatively to the late 1800s, just like Foner was working for. The Social Gospel missions at home are now very similar to missions in developing countries all over there world. People in menial labor jobs such as a janitor can take night classes to heighten themselves up in society. If Social Darwinism was still a dominant social theory, that would not be

Show More
Related

  • The Railway Army Marshall Kirkman Summary

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    The inequalities in America during the gilded age came from an unequal distribution of wealth, leaving only a small percentage of individuals with riches while the rest suffered in poverty even with constant overproduction of everyday necessities. People argued that social darwinism would chose who was meant to be rich and the survival of the fittest would deem who was better than the rest. From 1870-1895, journalists and critics dismantled the inequality during the period and some offer their own solutions.

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Dbq

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    At this time, Vanderbilt had emerged as a top leader in the railroad industry during the 19th century and eventually became the richest man in America. Vanderbilt is making it abundantly clear to Americans that his only objective is to acquire as much wealth as possible even if it is at the expense of every day citizens. Another man who echoed such sentiments is Andrew Carnegie. In an excerpt from the North American Review, Carnegie takes Vanderbilt’s ideas even further and advocates for the concentration of business and wealth into the hands of a few (Document 3). Carnegie suggests that such a separation between the rich and the poor “insures survival of the fittest in every department” and encourages competition, thus, benefiting society as a whole. Carnegie, a steel tycoon and one of the wealthiest businessmen to date, continuously voiced his approval of an ideology known as Social Darwinism which essentially models the “survival of the fittest” sentiment expressed by Carnegie and others. In essence, he believed in widening inequalities in society for the sole purpose of placing power in the hands of only the most wealthy and most

    Read More

  • Robber Barons Pros And Cons

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    This idea of Social Darwinism gave the robber barons of society the justification for their hostile behavior towards their workers. Andrew Carnegie tried to make the gospel of wealth that argued that the duty of someone with power and a lot of money was to put advancement into the society such as libraries. John D. Rockefeller also used this idea and gave away some of his wealth to education as well. However, many socialists, promoting fair distribution of wealth, tried to write books, which were very popular and best sellers at the time to address the social development issue of the economy. The factory workers had no opportunity to gain the independence and advancement to their social class. As argued in the cooperative commonwealth, they addressed the issue was that having liberty as well as monopoly cannot be happening at the same time in order for society to function in a civilized manner. The Social Gospel became known as relief programs that would take place to establish the mission and the relief to the harsh problems that were brought on by the robber barons of society. The arguments of the wage workers we clearly stating that the church can support the political

    Read More

  • The Effects of American Reform Movements in the 1900s

    2279 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the late 1800’s a group of Americans decided that something needed to be done about the decline of moral and ethical values in most Americans. These people called themselves the progressives and started one of the most comprehensive reform movements in the United States to this day. Progressivism became so widespread that by the end of World War I, anyone who didn’t agree with Progressive ideals was labeled a communist. The Progressives had four major goals that they wished to accomplish. These four goals were to democratize America, to Americanize America, the humanization of capitalism and rationalization of the economy. Each goal dealt with a different aspect of America’s society that the Progressives thought needed help. The way these goals were accomplished was to get laws passed that would reform the practices of many Americans. Progressives held that in order to bring American back to its old time, rural values people would need to attend church more.

    Read More

  • Social Darwinism Vs Social Gospel

    262 Words  | 1 Pages

    Both social darwinism and social gospel are ideologies surrounding the economics of urban and industrialization of the 19th century. Both of these were processes on the wealthy, and exactly how they would deal with poor and working class individuals. However, the specific execution on how these were done, as well as the goal were vastly different. Social Darwinism, just like Evolutionary Darwinism, really means survival of the fittest. The strongest survive and the weakest stay weak and eventually die. Relating this theory to economics; Social Darwinism is when a wealthy person keeps his money for him and his kin. Said person usually holds an attitude of, “the rich should get richer and the poor should stay poor.” On the other side of the economic

    Read More

  • Comparative View of Wealth Accumulation in America

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    The era that marked the end of civil war and the beginning of the twentieth century in the united states of America was coupled with enormous economic and industrial developments that attracted diverse views and different arguments on what exactly acquisition of wealth implied on the social classes in the society. It was during this time that the Marxist and those who embraced his ideologies came out strongly to argue their position on what industrial revolution should imply in an economic world like America. In fact, there was a rapid rise in the gross national product of the United States between 1874 and 1883. This actually sparked remarkable consequences on the political, social and economic impacts. In fact, the social rejoinder to industrialization had extensive consequences on the American society. This led to the emergence of social reform movements to discourse on the needs of the industrialized society. Various theories were developed to rationalize the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Various reformers like Andrew Carnegie, Henry George and William Graham Sumner perceived the view on the obligation of the wealthy differently. This paper seeks to address on the different views held by these prominent people during this time of historical transformations.

    Read More

  • Thre Views of Social Darwinism

    1702 Words  | 4 Pages

    The concept of Social Darwinism was a widely accepted theory in the nineteenth-century. Various intellectual, and political figures from each side of the political spectrum grasped the theory and interpreted it in various ways. In this paper, we will discuss three different nineteenth-century thinkers and their conception of Social Darwinism. The conservative, Heinrich von Treitschke, and liberal Herbert Spencer both gave arguments on the usefulness of competition between people on a global scale. The anarchist, Peter Kropotkin, refuted the belief of constant competition among members of the same species and emphasized mutual aid.

    Read More

  • The Myth Of Poverty In America

    1125 Words  | 3 Pages

    As stated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “the test of our progression is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Many people may agree with this statement considering that the United States is such a wealthy country and in 2012, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States and 15% of all Americans and 21.8% of children under age eighteen were in poverty.The honest truth is that many people do not know the conditions this group of people must live in on a daily basis because of the small number of people who realize the struggle there is not a great amount of service. In the article Too stressed for Success, the author Kevin Clarke asks the question “What is the cost of being poor in America?” and follows the question by explaining the great deals of problems the community of poverty goes through daily by saying, “Researchers have long known that because of a broad reduction in retail and other consumer choices experienced by America's poor, it is often simply more expensive to be poor in the United States.

    Read More

  • Survival in The Bean Trees

    3064 Words  | 7 Pages

    In 1859, Charles Darwin published his most famous work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection (Encarta 96). This book explained Darwin's theory of natural selection, a process not unlike separating the wheat from the chaff, where the least fit are eliminated, and only the fittest survive. An extension of this theory known as Social Darwinism emerged in the late 19th century. "Social Darwinists believed that people, like animals and plants, compete for survival and, by extension, success in life" (Encarta 96). Under this theory, the individuals who acquire the power and wealth are deemed the fittest, while those of lower economic and social levels are considered the least fit (Griffin Lecture). This appears to be a theory that Barbara Kingsolver sets out to disprove in her novel The Bean Trees. In a review in The Women's Review of Books, Margaret Randall observes that this is a novel not about "middle-class America, but real middle America, the unemployed and underemployed, the people working fast-food joints or patching tires, Oklahoma Indians, young mothers left by wandering husbands or mothers who never had husbands" (Randall 1). Ultimately, it is about survivors -- women such as Taylor Greer who sets out from Kentucky to find a better life and finds responsibility for another life; Mattie whose survival is wrapped up in her role as savior to all in need who enter Jesus Is Lord Used Tires; Lou Ann Ruiz who is afraid of life and in need of finding her strength; and Esperanza whose child was taken from her in a political struggle and who needs to find the will to live -- who pool their resources, both financial and emotional. These women have courage, humor and each other, resou...

    Read More

  • The Pursuit of the American Dream

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    To do what makes oneself happy. The American Dream is represented in many different ways and every person lives and chases a different version of the American Dream. Chris McCandless lived his American dream by walking alone into the wilderness of Alaska. The song written by Toby Keith, “American Soldier”, shows the price some pay for their dreams and ours to come true. Jay Gatsby died trying to acheive his dream and get the girl he loved, but died happy because he had pursued her until his death. The band All Time Low wrote a song called “The Reckless and The Brave” that brings a new light to how we go about achieving our dreams. So I believe that the American Dream is all about doing what will make you the happiest in the end.

    Read More

  • The American Dream: Success, Happiness, And Money

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    money. The reason i think this is because the reason people go through all those

    Read More

  • Industrialization and Immigration

    2270 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...strialists would continue as long as the industrial sector pervaded, in turn, the industry would continue to grow as long as their was a consistent supply of cheap labor, hence the influx of immigration by increasing industrial activity evoked Social Darwinism. With the startling growth of immigration, in what seemed like overnight, immigrants were met with hostility as they were the target of religious differences as well as labor unrest, the promoted sentiment was termed, nativism.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of the American Dream

    1649 Words  | 4 Pages

    Comparing the perspective of the American dream in the 1920’s to the American Dream in the 1940’s and present day seems to be a repeating cycle. The American dream is always evolving and changing. The American dream for present day is similar to the dream of the 1920’s. An Ideal of the American life is to conform to what our society has determined is success. Money, materialism and status had replaced the teachings of our founding fathers in the 1920’s. A return to family values and hard work found its way back into American’s lives in the 1940’s. The same pursuit of that indulgent lifestyle that was popular in the roaring twenty’s has returned today for most Americans, many Americans are living on credit and thinking that money and the accumulation of material items can solve all problems. Through film, literature, art and music, an idealized version of what it means to be an American has changed from money, materialism, and status of the 1920s to hard work and family values of the forties.

    Read More

  • The American Dream: The Biggest Lie of All

    675 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American Dream is referred to by many people as the reason to come to America. It is, or so they say, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Unfortunately they are incorrect, there truly is no American Dream, it is all an illusion given to us by our founding fathers as a reason for the inequality in which people are treated. I have lived in this country for 16 years now and have all the patriotic bullshit about how we give everyone equal opportunity and how everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. I just laugh when I read this. Throughout our country’s 300-year history, it is all about raising one person over the other. It started with the movement of the Native Americans. They were here before anyone else, and they were moved because they did not live with all the violence our ancestors did. The founding fathers continued to push them further and further away because it was beneficial to them at the time. They said if you stay here we will not bother you anymore, then when they decided that area was nice and they needed it for the white man. Then we began to take the black man out of Africa and use them on our plantations so the white man could get more money. The President ended slavery, but there were ways around it and everyone knew it. No one ever said any persecution of the black man is wrong for years and why not, because it was more convenient for us to ignore it. Now the people from Latin American countries have come in homes of freedom, and better lives. We tell them they have to speak English, since they are in America, but I do not recall being taught the language of the Native Americans. Since they were here first should you not have to learn that language?

    Read More

  • The Influence Of The American Dream

    2198 Words  | 5 Pages

    When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it as “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It

    Read More

More about Social Darwinism And The American Dream: The Gospel Of Wealth

Open Document