APUSH 6.7

Social Darwinism Project

1. Social Darwinism Carter Berry

2. Social Darwinism What Is Social Darwinism? Social Darwinism was the “Application of Darwin’s laws of evolution to society” (Brinkley 471). Social Darwinism emphasized the belief that only the fittest deserved to survive and prosper and that the poor where unsuccessful because they were weak. When men became rich, Social Darwinism stated that it was because they were strong and that their success was simply the “Laws of Nature” (Brinkley 472). How Did It Impact America? Social Darwinism became popular among the powerful because it “legitimized their success and confirmed their virtues” (Brinkley 472). Social Darwinism. The rich used social Darwinism to support their practices of monopiles and union busting. According to them their actions were just “Economic life was controlled by natural law” (Brinkley 472) and those who opposed it would fail. Social Darwinism was forced on Americans through ideas such as the “Self-Made Man” and other manipulative slogans. Social Darwinism helped the rich continue to oppress the poor and it allowed for their power to grow.

3. The Gospel Of Wealth What Is The Gospel Of Wealth? The Gospel of Wealth is a continuation of Social Darwinism that believes that it is the duty of the rich to bring “social progress” (Brinley 473) to America. This belief was held by many people such as minister Russell Conwell and Andrew Carnegie. The Gospel of Wealth encourages the rich to bring social progress so the poor can rise to the upper or middle class in the future. This is supposed to give the “strongest” (Brinkley 472) The chance to rise and prosper. How Did It Impact America? The Gospel of Wealth led to many of the philanthropic practices seen by the rich. Andrew Carnegie built many “Libraries and Schools” (Brinkley 473) to help the poor rise from their poverty. This more watered-down version of social Darwinism became popular among the people as it encouraged them to rise up from poverty and sucecced . When the poor did rise up, their “success stories” ( Brinkely 473) were used to show that all could rise up. However, the Gospel of Wealth still held to the belief that the poor were poor because they were not the fittest and led to continued oppression of the poor.

4. Comparing and Contrasting Social Darwinism Social Darwinism Taught that the rich earned deserved their riches and were not supposed to look out for anyone then themselves It taught that if all looked out for themselves, then the strongest would succeed. (Brinkley 471) The Gospel of Wealth The Gospel of Wealth taught that the rich needed to provide pathways for the poor to become rich. They believed that if the poor had the proper pathways such as libraries and schools, then social Darwinism would work and the strongest could succeed. Both Both Social Darwinism and The Gospel of Wealth teach that economic and social life derive from Darwin’s biological teaching. (Brinkley 471-473) Both promoted the idea of the “Self Made Man” (Brinkley 472).

5. Works Cited Brinkley, Alan. American history: Connecting with the past (Updated AP edition. ed.), 2017, McGraw-Hill Education.