Social Darwinism
Seungmin William
“They (the poor) constantly neutralize and destroy the finest efforts of the wise and industrious, and are a dead-weight on the society”
-William Sumner
Social Darwinism is a social theory which states that only the fittest, wealthy and ‘chosen’, can survive competitions in the society and are crucial for a social progress. It was first developed by Herbert Spencer, an English sociologist. In his book Social Statics, published in 1851, he coined the term “survival of the fittest” which means that the competition in the society, as in nature, is the law of life and that only the fittest ones would survive while the others would not. He also supported Laissez-Faire capitalism, an economic system which a government does not interfere in private businesses, and argued that the ‘unfits’ should not be helped by any means such as public health care.
In the United States, 368,755 copies of Social Statics were sold from 1860 to 1903 and received wide supports from various intelligentsias and powerful businessmen such as William Sumner, a professor in Yale, and John D. Rockefeller, a co-founder of Standard Oil Company. Because most upper class employers believed that Social Darwinism is applicable to American society, laborers faced harsh working conditions, and started to strike and protest. However, the Supreme Court supported the Social Darwinism. They ruled many state laws that regulate working conditions and minimum wages as unconstitutional by reinterpreting the fifth and the 14th amendments which banned the federal and state governments to deprive persons (corporations) of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” For example, in 1905, when striking down a New York health law, which limited the maximum working hours, the justices agreed that it violated the 14th Amendment.
In the United States during the Gilded Age, Social Darwinism served as an explanation and a justification for the rapid growth of poverty and low employment rate due to the sudden influx of immigrants and freed African Americans after the Civil War.
-William Sumner
Social Darwinism is a social theory which states that only the fittest, wealthy and ‘chosen’, can survive competitions in the society and are crucial for a social progress. It was first developed by Herbert Spencer, an English sociologist. In his book Social Statics, published in 1851, he coined the term “survival of the fittest” which means that the competition in the society, as in nature, is the law of life and that only the fittest ones would survive while the others would not. He also supported Laissez-Faire capitalism, an economic system which a government does not interfere in private businesses, and argued that the ‘unfits’ should not be helped by any means such as public health care.
In the United States, 368,755 copies of Social Statics were sold from 1860 to 1903 and received wide supports from various intelligentsias and powerful businessmen such as William Sumner, a professor in Yale, and John D. Rockefeller, a co-founder of Standard Oil Company. Because most upper class employers believed that Social Darwinism is applicable to American society, laborers faced harsh working conditions, and started to strike and protest. However, the Supreme Court supported the Social Darwinism. They ruled many state laws that regulate working conditions and minimum wages as unconstitutional by reinterpreting the fifth and the 14th amendments which banned the federal and state governments to deprive persons (corporations) of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” For example, in 1905, when striking down a New York health law, which limited the maximum working hours, the justices agreed that it violated the 14th Amendment.
In the United States during the Gilded Age, Social Darwinism served as an explanation and a justification for the rapid growth of poverty and low employment rate due to the sudden influx of immigrants and freed African Americans after the Civil War.
work cited:
"Social Darwinism and American Laissez-faire Capitalism." Constitutional Rights Foundation. 1 Sept. 2003. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Bannister, Robert. "Social Darwinism." Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 19 Jan. 2000. Web. 11 Dec. 2014
Alchin, Linda. "Social Darwinism." American Historama. 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.
"Social Darwinism and American Laissez-faire Capitalism." Constitutional Rights Foundation. 1 Sept. 2003. Web. 20 Dec. 2014.
Bannister, Robert. "Social Darwinism." Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 19 Jan. 2000. Web. 11 Dec. 2014
Alchin, Linda. "Social Darwinism." American Historama. 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Dec. 2014.
Populism & "Cross of Gold" Speech
David Kang
"You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold"- William Jennings Bryan
The People’s Party, also known as the “Populists”, was a short lived political party from 1891 to 1908. Since the party was based among poor, white cotton farmers of the South and hard- pressed wheat farmers in the plains states, the party expressed hostility to banks, cities, railroads, gold and elites.
In the presidential election of 1896, William Jennings Bryan was nominated as presidential candidate representing People’s Party. William Jennings Bryan, who served as a member of the House from Nebraska, made the “Cross of Gold” speech in the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, claiming that bimetallism, usage of both gold and silver as the monetary standard, will bring wealth to United States.
Until this time, America was using gold standard since 1873. Using gold standard limited America’s money supply but eased trade with other countries, such as UK. However, the Panic of 1893 drastically increased debate regarding bimetallism and gold standard.
Panic of 1893 was an economic disaster. Building excessive number of railroads and foreign investments led to bankruptcy in railroad companies, deflation, the stock market lost its value, 15,000 businesses and 5000 banks collapsed, and 3 million people lost their jobs, raising unemployment to 20%.
The argument for the usage of bimetallism that it would increase money supply. The ratio of silver to gold in bimetallism is 16:1, this made possible to make more money with less than its face value. This would drastically increase money supply, which would lead to inflation. Thus, it would flourish the economy of the poor and the nation as a whole.
David Kang
"You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold"- William Jennings Bryan
The People’s Party, also known as the “Populists”, was a short lived political party from 1891 to 1908. Since the party was based among poor, white cotton farmers of the South and hard- pressed wheat farmers in the plains states, the party expressed hostility to banks, cities, railroads, gold and elites.
In the presidential election of 1896, William Jennings Bryan was nominated as presidential candidate representing People’s Party. William Jennings Bryan, who served as a member of the House from Nebraska, made the “Cross of Gold” speech in the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, claiming that bimetallism, usage of both gold and silver as the monetary standard, will bring wealth to United States.
Until this time, America was using gold standard since 1873. Using gold standard limited America’s money supply but eased trade with other countries, such as UK. However, the Panic of 1893 drastically increased debate regarding bimetallism and gold standard.
Panic of 1893 was an economic disaster. Building excessive number of railroads and foreign investments led to bankruptcy in railroad companies, deflation, the stock market lost its value, 15,000 businesses and 5000 banks collapsed, and 3 million people lost their jobs, raising unemployment to 20%.
The argument for the usage of bimetallism that it would increase money supply. The ratio of silver to gold in bimetallism is 16:1, this made possible to make more money with less than its face value. This would drastically increase money supply, which would lead to inflation. Thus, it would flourish the economy of the poor and the nation as a whole.
Jim Crow Laws
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William Jennings Bryan and the Cross of Gold
Vincent Huang
“You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”
-William Jennings Bryan
Before 1862, American citizens still mainly relied on other national currencies. It was only until the middle of the war that the US Government realized that they had to produce their own money or face bankruptcy. By the Gilded Age, people faced a huge dilemma. Because of the scarcity of gold and the overall economy, deflation occurred, which caused debts of daily people to rise ridiculously. This gave rise to the Populism movement, in which people wanted to include silver as part of the currency (so you can exchange silver directly cash, like gold).
The Populism movement was headed by William Jennings Bryan, a Nebraskan Democrat. He pushed strongly for Free Silver, which was basically the movement to include silver into the monetary system mentioned above. His emotional speech about the “cross of gold” during the Democratic Convention won him his nomination for presidency during 1896. He ends his speech with the famous quote above, while standing with his arms outstretched for five minutes after the speech. It was often cited as the most effective and convincing speech of all time.
However, Bryan lost to William McKinley during the election, and America eventually adopted the gold standard through the Gold Standard Act in 1900. The concept of Free Silver never was fully implemented in America.
The rise of the Populism and Free Silver Movement was a reflection of the social problems American had, mainly around the topic of the distribution of wealth. Because of the economic boom, the wealthy people had so much cash such that monetary flow was severely limited. Deflation then occurred which caused the value of money to rise. Common people such as farmers would have to pay “more” to cover their previous debts, and they wanted to change that.
http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/populism/popessay1.html
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/wp/wp588.pdf
http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/MH/Bimetalintro.htm
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Cross_of_Gold_speech.html
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williamjenningsbryan1896dnc.html
-William Jennings Bryan
Before 1862, American citizens still mainly relied on other national currencies. It was only until the middle of the war that the US Government realized that they had to produce their own money or face bankruptcy. By the Gilded Age, people faced a huge dilemma. Because of the scarcity of gold and the overall economy, deflation occurred, which caused debts of daily people to rise ridiculously. This gave rise to the Populism movement, in which people wanted to include silver as part of the currency (so you can exchange silver directly cash, like gold).
The Populism movement was headed by William Jennings Bryan, a Nebraskan Democrat. He pushed strongly for Free Silver, which was basically the movement to include silver into the monetary system mentioned above. His emotional speech about the “cross of gold” during the Democratic Convention won him his nomination for presidency during 1896. He ends his speech with the famous quote above, while standing with his arms outstretched for five minutes after the speech. It was often cited as the most effective and convincing speech of all time.
However, Bryan lost to William McKinley during the election, and America eventually adopted the gold standard through the Gold Standard Act in 1900. The concept of Free Silver never was fully implemented in America.
The rise of the Populism and Free Silver Movement was a reflection of the social problems American had, mainly around the topic of the distribution of wealth. Because of the economic boom, the wealthy people had so much cash such that monetary flow was severely limited. Deflation then occurred which caused the value of money to rise. Common people such as farmers would have to pay “more” to cover their previous debts, and they wanted to change that.
http://dig.lib.niu.edu/gildedage/populism/popessay1.html
https://www.minneapolisfed.org/research/wp/wp588.pdf
http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/MH/Bimetalintro.htm
https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Cross_of_Gold_speech.html
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/williamjenningsbryan1896dnc.html
Yellow Peril
Marisa Vaughan
“The "Yellow Peril"
was a term coined by the German Kaiser
Wilhelm II, to express the
concern that the "civilized" world (aka the Anglo-Saxon empires) was in danger of being overrun by yellow-skinned (aka. Chinese and Japanese) hordes. Vestiges of it can still be found by turning over
one of several rocks.” –Rational Wiki
The Yellow Peril occurred during the 1870s to 1920s. The white people were afraid that the Asian people were going to take over the world by stealing all of their jobs…because the Asians were doing a pretty good job at it so far. This caused many white people, particularly in California, to start attacking Asians, not hire Asians, and limit Asians by law.
The first major law concerning Asians was the Page Act of 1875 where it limited Asians from immigrating if they were prostitutes, convicts, or forced laborers. This act had very little impact on immigration with Chinese men, but it did severely limit Chinese women from entering the country.
The second major law concerning Chinese was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act which was passed in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act denied Chinese laborers from entering the country. Even when they tried to show that they weren’t laborers (ex: a surgeon), Chinese still found it difficult because, to say it plainly, the Americans just didn’t want any Chinese in. This law was supposed to end in 1892, but it was renewed by the Geary Act. The Geary Act also forced all Chinese residents to carry their residence permits at all times or risk deportation.
While clearly these acts were unfair to the Chinese, were they justifiable? The Americans were losing jobs and the wages were sinking, so of course they would blame it on immigrants. During the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, an overwhelming 90% of the people working were Chinese. However, looking at cartoons at the time, it seems like it was more fuelled by racism than anything.
Citation:
http://sun.menloschool.org/~mbrody/ushistory/angel/exclusion_act/
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/chinese6.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20070328223654/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/documents/docpages/document_page47.htm
The Yellow Peril
Michael and Atsu
"Well, the Oriental doesn't put the same high price on life as does a Westerner. Life is plentiful, life is cheap in the Orient. And as the... philosophy of the Orient expresses it, life is— is not important."
— General William Westmoreland
In the beginning of 1860, immigrants from Asia came pouring into the East and West coasts of America. But not long 1875, many non-white races were ostracized by the color of their skin. The Page act of 1875 was the first passed by the Congress to restrict undesired immigrants from entering the US. Because the Whites feared the huge Asian immigrant population would take away the Whites’ jobs. If by any chance Asians entered America, they would have to work as a forced laborer with little pay. This whole concept of White fear of Asian world replacing that of the Whites was known as the Yellow Peril .
During 1880, theYellow Peril especially affected Chinese Americans. With such discrimination, a typical Chinese American was denied habeas corpus ( natural rights )
The Chinese exclusion act in 1882 even restricted them to certain jobs.
In 1886, the City of San Francisco passed an order that people needed a permit to facilitate a laundry in a wooden shack. However, due to theYellow Peril, the City only granted 1 permit in 80 Chinese immigrants. Other People who had no relation to China was There were about 300 total laundry shacks and 95% of them were built with wood. More than 2/3 of this number were run by Chinese immigrants. Yick Wo had been a laundromat for over 20 years, but was also forced to give up the business.
This is significant because it was the first time the US supreme court had infringed a constitutional law.
Because Wo felt mistreated as a individual, he sued the city for violating the 14 amendment in theYick Wo V Hopkins case but lost inevitably. This sparked the formation of the CHLA ( Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance ) labor union in 1933.
Works Cited
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/History/S22%20-The%20Malleable%20Yet%20Undying%20Nature%20of%20the%20Yellow%20Peril.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/yellow-peril.html
"Yick Wo v. Hopkins." Case Brief Summary. 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Dec. 2014. <http://www.casebriefsummary.com/yick-wo-v-hopkins/>.
The Yellow Peril occurred during the 1870s to 1920s. The white people were afraid that the Asian people were going to take over the world by stealing all of their jobs…because the Asians were doing a pretty good job at it so far. This caused many white people, particularly in California, to start attacking Asians, not hire Asians, and limit Asians by law.
The first major law concerning Asians was the Page Act of 1875 where it limited Asians from immigrating if they were prostitutes, convicts, or forced laborers. This act had very little impact on immigration with Chinese men, but it did severely limit Chinese women from entering the country.
The second major law concerning Chinese was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the Geary Act which was passed in 1892. The Chinese Exclusion Act denied Chinese laborers from entering the country. Even when they tried to show that they weren’t laborers (ex: a surgeon), Chinese still found it difficult because, to say it plainly, the Americans just didn’t want any Chinese in. This law was supposed to end in 1892, but it was renewed by the Geary Act. The Geary Act also forced all Chinese residents to carry their residence permits at all times or risk deportation.
While clearly these acts were unfair to the Chinese, were they justifiable? The Americans were losing jobs and the wages were sinking, so of course they would blame it on immigrants. During the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, an overwhelming 90% of the people working were Chinese. However, looking at cartoons at the time, it seems like it was more fuelled by racism than anything.
Citation:
http://sun.menloschool.org/~mbrody/ushistory/angel/exclusion_act/
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/chinese6.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20070328223654/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/documents/docpages/document_page47.htm
The Yellow Peril
Michael and Atsu
"Well, the Oriental doesn't put the same high price on life as does a Westerner. Life is plentiful, life is cheap in the Orient. And as the... philosophy of the Orient expresses it, life is— is not important."
— General William Westmoreland
In the beginning of 1860, immigrants from Asia came pouring into the East and West coasts of America. But not long 1875, many non-white races were ostracized by the color of their skin. The Page act of 1875 was the first passed by the Congress to restrict undesired immigrants from entering the US. Because the Whites feared the huge Asian immigrant population would take away the Whites’ jobs. If by any chance Asians entered America, they would have to work as a forced laborer with little pay. This whole concept of White fear of Asian world replacing that of the Whites was known as the Yellow Peril .
During 1880, theYellow Peril especially affected Chinese Americans. With such discrimination, a typical Chinese American was denied habeas corpus ( natural rights )
The Chinese exclusion act in 1882 even restricted them to certain jobs.
In 1886, the City of San Francisco passed an order that people needed a permit to facilitate a laundry in a wooden shack. However, due to theYellow Peril, the City only granted 1 permit in 80 Chinese immigrants. Other People who had no relation to China was There were about 300 total laundry shacks and 95% of them were built with wood. More than 2/3 of this number were run by Chinese immigrants. Yick Wo had been a laundromat for over 20 years, but was also forced to give up the business.
This is significant because it was the first time the US supreme court had infringed a constitutional law.
Because Wo felt mistreated as a individual, he sued the city for violating the 14 amendment in theYick Wo V Hopkins case but lost inevitably. This sparked the formation of the CHLA ( Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance ) labor union in 1933.
Works Cited
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~hist32/History/S22%20-The%20Malleable%20Yet%20Undying%20Nature%20of%20the%20Yellow%20Peril.htm
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/yellow-peril.html
"Yick Wo v. Hopkins." Case Brief Summary. 18 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Dec. 2014. <http://www.casebriefsummary.com/yick-wo-v-hopkins/>.