Darwinism and American Society

Name:
HIS-144: Darwinism and American Society
Briefly explain how each of the following contributed or detracted to the Social Darwinism or eugenics movement in America: (20-30 words each)
Count Arthur de Gobineau
Gobineau applied Social Darwinism by suggesting that the gradual decline in the number of existing civilizations is secondary to their combination with inferior races, leading to racial hybridization (Weiss, 1987, p. 93-94).
Houston Stewart Chamberlain:
Chamberlain used Teutonic mythology with the racial theories of Gobineua. He believed that democracy is a foolish system because equality is fictitious and only exists in myths (Chapoutot, 2015).
Charles Darwin
He heavily influenced Social Darwinism because of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. The ideologies of Social Darwinism came from the “survival of the fittest” concept of Darwin (Claeys, 2000).
Herbert Spencer
He is known for his Social Darwinism doctrines promoting the idea that nature works by removing the inferior in society so that there will be room for better ones (Paul, 2003, p.227).
William Graham Sumner
Sumner wrote “What Social Classes Owe Each Other” which supported the concept of one race owing another. He also believed that the impoverished deserve their condition (Leonard, 2009).
Josiah Strong
He applied his Protestant religious beliefs in his movement. He believed that all races can be boosted and made closer to Jesus Christ. He was against social injustice and evil (Muller, 1966).
Andrew Carnegie
He is a Social Darwinist that believed that those who are considered the fittest should help those who are considered weak through works such as philanthropy and charity (Harvey, et al., 2011).
Lester Frank Ward
He is considered an opponent of Social Darwinism and he believes in social equality applicable to gender and social class. He sees universal education as the way in achieving this (Hofstadter, 2017).
How was Darwinism generally, and eugenics specifically, used to impact America’s immigration policies?
Social Darwinism proposed the idea of having superiority in terms of races so this also affected the immigration policies of America. “Survival of the fittest” became the main point of Social Darwinism, and it was said that it is through genetics and selective breeding that the best race can emerge. This became the basis of who they let inside the country, and with northern Europe being considered as superior in physical, emotional, and mental capabilities, the immigrants from Europe were the only ones who were allowed to enter America. In line with this, the immigration laws restricted Chinese immigrants in America because they were believed to be inferior (Rudman & Saud, 2020).
Three Applications of Survival of the Fittest’ to Society
Eugenics applies the concept of “survival of the fittest” by using genetics to improve the quality of human life. An example would be where a person would choose a spouse with a higher level of intelligence, and physical traits such as fair skin, small nose, and symmetrical features, so that their child would have the chance to acquire these traits. The Socia...