Social Darwinism and The Gospel of Wealth were two late 19th century ideas that helped shape America’s views on social, economic, and political issues. The former applied the theory of natural selection to sociology and politics while the latter outlined a way for the country’s newly minted rich to redistribute their surplus wealth to the needy. Both concepts offer insight into the 1877-1900 period in American history known as the Gilded Age.
Social Darwinism is a late 19th century term used to describe the application of British naturalist Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection to social and political conditions. Late 19th century sociologist Herbert Spencer tried to capture the essence of social Darwinism with his phrase “survival of the fittest”. This essentially meant that the strong would rise to the top while the weak simply died out. Social Darwinists eschew social responsibility and compassion, instead believing that some people are more fit to survive than others. Many social Darwinists advocated that the government should maintain a laissez-faire, or hands off, approach when it came to regulating economic competition and alleviating social inequalities. Social Darwinism was used to justify the consolidation of the majority of wealth by a minority of Americans. The term allowed people to rationalize capitalism, imperialism, racism, and even eugenics. The wealthy believed in social Darwinism because it allowed them to justify their oppressive business tactics and low wages for their labor force. Politicians believed in it because it allowed them to justify imperialism, or expansion of the nation. Affluent Anglo-Saxons believed in social Darwinism, believing themselves to be the superior race, and used it to justify ...
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...failed in his duty to redistribute his surplus wealth to his community, and that the State should heavily tax the remaining estate. This belief that men of wealth were responsible for bridging the widening gap between the well-to-do and those hoping to do well led Carnegie to publish The Gospel of Wealth.
In closing, at the close of the 19th century government spending on public goods and services was minimal, resulting in growing disparity between the new upper class and the working class. Some wealthy people, such as Andrew Carnagie, felt that it was their responsibility to bridge this gap. Others utilized social Darwinism to justify the widening gap between upper and working classes. Both theories failed to meet the needs of an expanding working class in an era of increasing disparity and oppression masked by unprecedented economic growth known as the Gilded Age.
Accurately established by many historians, the capitalists who shaped post-Civil War industrial America were regarded as corrupt “robber barons”. In a society in which there was a severe imbalance in the dynamics of the economy, these selfish individuals viewed this as an opportunity to advance in their financial status. Thus, they acquired fortunes for themselves while purposely overseeing the struggles of the people around them. Presented in Document A, “as liveried carriage appear; so do barefooted children”, proved to be a true description of life during the 19th century. In hopes of rebuilding America, the capitalists’ hunger for wealth only widened the gap between the rich and poor.
In the documents titled, William Graham Sumner on Social Darwinism and Andrew Carnegie Explains the Gospel of Wealth, Sumner and Carnegie both analyze their perspective on the idea on “social darwinism.” To begin with, both documents argue differently about wealth, poverty and their consequences. Sumner is a supporter of social darwinism. In the aspects of wealth and poverty he believes that the wealthy are those with more capital and rewards from nature, while the poor are “those who have inherited disease and depraved appetites, or have been brought up in vice and ignorance, or have themselves yielded to vice, extravagance, idleness, and imprudence” (Sumner, 36). The consequences of Sumner’s views on wealth and poverty is that they both contribute to the idea of inequality and how it is not likely for the poor to be of equal status with the wealthy. Furthermore, Carnegie views wealth and poverty as a reciprocative relation. He does not necessarily state that the wealthy and poor are equal, but he believes that the wealthy are the ones who “should use their wisdom, experiences, and wealth as stewards for the poor” (textbook, 489). Ultimately, the consequences of
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
In a nutshell, it can be argued that in the event of serious economic developments, various people and groups held different views of what exactly a wealthy society should be. It is crystal clear that Andrew Carnegie and William Graham Sumner held same view on wealth accumulation whereas Henry George strongly advocated for policies that would enhance equality.
The exact period of time in which the Gilded Age occurred is ever-debatable, but most historians can at least agree that it started within the 20 years after the Civil War ended and lasted until the early 1920s. (West) The Gilded Age itself was characterized by the beginnings of corporations and corrupt political machines. Policies such as the General Incorporation Laws allowed business to grow larger more easily, and with less red tape involved. New technology allowed faster and more efficient production, but this explosive growth of industry called for not only more resources, but new business practices and leaders as well. (Moritz 10-12)
5. Perry, Elisabeth Israels, and Karen Manners Smith. The Gilded Age and Progressive Era: a student companion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Print.
From the period between the 1870’s through the 1890’s, it became an era known as the Gilded Age. The term was characterized by a famous American Literature author named Mark Twain. The writer tried to point out that the term means that while on the outside society may seem perfect and in order, underneath there is poverty, crime, corruption, and many other issues between American society’s rich and poor. This era’s gild is thicker than the cheaper material it’s covering. This can be shown through the countless numbers of achievements and advances America has made during the period of reconstruction and expansion, industrialization, and foreign affairs.
Social Darwinism is “the theory that persons, groups, and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection” , a term used by Charles Darwin to refer to species evolution. The term was coined in the late 19th century and it was used to justify the “survival of the fittest”, where the “weak” was unsuited to survive, while the strong was better suited to adapt growing in power and in cultural influence. Societies, like individ...
In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circlue of our felicities.” (Jefferson, 1801) This idea echoed far beyond it’s time and into the minds and hearts of the Populist’s, and became the center and the driving force of the Progressive era. During the gilded age railroads were being built, Industrialization was rising, the population of United States was increasing dramatically; and corporate businesses were becoming extremely powerful. The gilded age was known for its corruption and business domination, it wasn’t until the Populist movement when people started to fight back and also not until the Progressive movement when people started changing the government system.
Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s a Scottish American industrialist known as Andrew Carnegie dominated the steel industry making him one of the richest men in the history of the United States. While Carnegie was known as somewhat of a dictator in his industry he was also known for his extensive work in philanthropy and social equality. Most famously, Carnegie wrote The Gospel of Wealth, which details his views on the widening class division in the US. In The Gospel of Wealth, Carnegie states that while the conditions of the rich and the poor are becoming increasingly polar this is not necessarily a bad thing. Carnegie argues that the separation of the high and low class provides for the progression of the human race as the rich can
In the 1870s, the English sociologist Herbert Spencer applied Charles Darwin's theories of biological evolution to human behavior and institutions. Spencer used the idea of survival of the fittest in biology and theorized human society had evolved the same way (Cooper 15). Social Darwinism, as Spencer's theory is called, pits everyone against each other to survive in the world where humans are soldiers in a war for survival. If a person is poor, it is their fault and no one should help that person rise above the poverty status. If a person is rich, they are worthy of the position based on their actions, even if morally wrong. So if one is poor, the person will be weeded out of society while the rich survive.
To the modern eye, these fears seem unfounded and ridiculous. However, during the Gilded Age a dark idea was capturing the hearts and minds of the elite- Social Darwinism. Based on a fundamental misapplication of the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin, this idea stated that survival of
Shortly after War World I there is an economic boom that hits all of America just before The Great Depression. With the success of the war raising the people’s morale and as a result put their trust in the economy and the stock market. There is a spread in both business prosperity and wealth. The wealthy became wealthier and the poor became poorer. With the wealthy being too filthy rich to know what to do with themselves there starts this pattern of association between carelessness and wealth. Those who were rich bought things just to have unnecessary expensive things, and did careless things because the wealthy believed they were all high and mighty, and nothing
The Golden Age did wonders to advance the lives of the rich, however it did little for the lives of the poor. The lower class was highly neglected by society in the 1920s. The standard of living declined instead of improving for the poor; they faced falling rates in healthcare, education, wages, and consumption. Their lack of wealth left them to be victims of the business boom of the 1920s. However, the absence of money did not impede the poor from attempting to live a meager version of the rich’s lifestyle. Destitute women tried to imitate affluent women’s style by wearing similar fashion and makeup, but it they were run-down versions of the true affluent women’s style. The men merely attempted to reach the level of the wealthy by constantly working. Yet, they could never gain enough hours or a steady income to move up from the lower class. The poor’s constant need and want to be like the rich was part of the reason they were ridiculed and ignored by the rest of society. The other part was because they were poor; in the 1920s it was unheard of to mingle with people who were not of the same social class. The rich stuck with the rich and the poor stuck with the poor. This was an unspoken rule of society that everyone
Survival of the fittest. This idea, also known as Darwinism, was theorized by scientist Charles Darwin to explain the evolution of animal species. In the late 1800s, however, the idea of Social Darwinism emerged and applied the same concepts of Darwinism but on humans not animals. As defined by the dictionary, Social Darwinism is a belief, popular in the late Victorian era throughout the world, which states that the strongest or toughest should survive and flourish in society, while the weak and unfit should be allowed to die (“Social” 1). Science fiction writer H.G. Wells lived when the ideas of Social Darwinism were at their peak. He was able to see firsthand what effects Social Darwinism had on the world, and he was by no means impressed. By examining the different critical lenses of The Time Machine, the reader can see how H.G. Wells warns how the adverse effects of Social Darwinism are endangering the future of humanity.