Essay On Social Darwinism

Industrialism started in 1800s and it was managed by the Industrialists. These industrialists were wealthy business owners and they owned big corporations. They were famous men like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford etc. which to some people are robber barons but to others are captains of industry. These men provided positives and negatives to the US economy in 1900s. These individuals did hard work to drive the US in 1900s but on the other hand, they provided harsh working conditions to their laborers. The economy in the 1900s wasn’t stable but these men provided a back to America and they should be considered as the captains of the industry,

The AFL (American Federation of Labor) and the Knights of Labor were two major labor unions. Both of these unions were established to represent those (workers) who had been treated unfairly for many years. Scrutinizing the American Federation of Labor, we can see that they were a union who solely represented experienced workers. Although the AFL focused on the fundamental issues that impacted these workers, they avoided dealing with major social issues. Not only did the American Federation of Labor want to utilize collective bargaining to settle contracts, but they wanted unions to be accredited by businesses as the sole representatives for workers in their companies. On the other hand, the Knights of Labor, unlike the American Federation

Industrialization was an important era where the economy started to develop new machines, factories, and more labor productivity. A time where hand made objects were being replaced by assembly lines and machines. This era started to develop a lot of labor productivity, this made the population increase and made immigrants come from all over the world to work for very long hours and gain very little. This development caused monopolies to be created and take control over labor. It benefited the monopolies because they were gaining a lot of money by their businesses but for the workers it was a disaster because their income wasn't enough to support a whole family. During these time of the era is when child labor began increasing because they had

During the industrialization children would work over ten hours, most adults today don’t work for more than eight hours. Industrialization is the growth of the economy during the 1800’s, which started in the United States. Industrialization is when a country develops its industries and the effect are positive on the country’s economy. It brings more products to the consumers for a cheaper price and more jobs to the people. It has a negative effect on the worker, usually they work on bad working conditions, little wages, and long hours.

Industrial workers rebelled to industrialization by forming labor unions. The Knights of labor was a union group the formed in 1869. The Knights of Labor accepted all producers, including women and African-Americans. The Constitution of The Knights of Labor states, “To secure the toilers a proper share of the wealth that they create; more of the leisure that rightfully belongs to them…”

The Knights of Labor represented the pinnacle of the up lift labor movement. They, at one time, had membership that numbered in the hundreds of thousands and nearly hit a million members. This organization was unique in its time because it espoused many of the ideals we hold today as statutory for an ethical and equitable society as well as employee and employer relationships. The Knights of Labor did not begrudge industry or capitalism, moreover they were less of a concern than the organization’s larger goal to protect and promote social equity in labor and society, for the common man.

As Napoleon Hill once said, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit”. This holds true to the Knights of Labor in their endeavor to increase solidarity and unity, by encouraging opposing communities to work together, thus improving the lives of workers and their families during the diminutive period of time when the Knights of Labor were active. The Knight’s tackled the monopolists and fought for the justices they knew to be theirs, in strong efforts to improve societal inequalities – organizing groups of workers throughout different classes of sex, race, and skill. The major impacts that the Knights of Labor had on society during their peak, as well as in the future, can be illustrated by 3 principal criteria that this paper will be centralized around. Firstly, the Knights of Labor were dreamers – they encouraged people to look forward and take action against poor circumstances and lack of power; because of this, they were ahead of other labour organizations during this time as the Knights fought against what others said to be unalterable. Second, the Knights of Labor brought disparate groups together, forging the way to a progressive society in the height of an otherwise racist and sexist one. Lastly, the Knights of Labor drew a significant expansion of wage earnings across North America – providing many people with secure jobs and a culture in which they were protected by unity.

Social Darwinism is a theory that individuals, peoples, and groups are subject to darwinian laws of natural selection. Another way to describe social darwinism is survival of the fittest. The strongest and the smartest will survive. It is now largely discredited, it was advocated in the late 19th and early 20th century by Herbert Spencer and others. It was used to justify political conservation, imperialism, to discourage intervention and reform and racism. This theory was used to support the laissez faire capitalism and political conservatism.

Initially a fraternal organization providing social events, sporting competitions, and education for working men and their families, the Knights of Labor soon advocated for the creation of cooperatives where members would serve as worker-owners who have input on the running of factories in hopes of making changes for the better of the working man. The Knights of Labor believed that the “alarming development and aggression of aggregated wealth, which, unless checked, will inevitably lead to the pauperization and hopeless degradation of the toiling masses” could only be stopped “through the unification of labor”. The Knights were open to all “producers” including skilled and unskilled workers and owners as well as women and African-Americans. Bankers, doctors, liquor manufacturers, lawyers, and stockholders were excluded because of their supposed lack in productive contribution to society. The union advocated for a national eight hour workday, the expulsion of Asian workers, the prohibition of immigration from the Far East, and an end to child labor. The Knights worked to make changes for all workers, regardless of affiliation with the group, and opposed strikes and boycotts. As the Knights of Labor began to fade away, another organization arose called the American Federation of

Social Darwinism is based off of Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. He uses the concept of survival of the fittest. This was used to justify class distinctions and to explain the reason for poverty. Modern science declared that the failure to advance in society was due to the lack of self reliance and determination. They acted down on people who needed government aid. Even during the depression people still believed the notion that the poor were responsible for their fate. The idea of natural superiority was around since the Civil War. So much so, we thought it was okay to own human beings.

Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection, a scientific theory that supported the belief of evolution, was manipulated and applied to different areas of life, and thus it became the shaping force in European thought in the last half of the nineteenth century. Darwin, through observation of organisms, determined that a system of natural selection controlled the evolution of species. He found that the organisms that were most fit and assimilated to the environment would survive. They would also reproduce so that over time they would eventually dominate in numbers over the organisms with weaker characteristics. This new theory was radical and interesting to the scientific world but its effects reach far beyond this small institution of

Darwin and Evolution are inextricably linked in the minds of most people who have had the opportunity to study them in basic biology. However, Darwin's theories of selection and survival of the fittest have been applied to moral, economic, political, and other cultural aspects of society. Dennett briefly touched on some of the political and social ramifications of Darwin's theories in the final chapter of Darwin's Dangerous Idea. Other philosophers and thinkers have also adapted Darwin's evolutionary ideas, in order to apply them in a societal or cultural context. One great example of this adaptation of the biological concept of evolution, is the appearance of Social Darwinism during the 19th century.

During the 19th century race theories were highly influenced by social Darwinism, and during his time each race was meant to represent a different part of the evolutionary scale, with whites always ending up on the top. Heredity became significantly more important than environment as well. Social Darwinism seemed to be a step in the right direction scientifically speaking, but racism still seeped its way into these new evolutionary theories thanks to the help of several social scientists. One social scientist who provided non racist explanations was Herbert Spencer. Spencer took Darwin’s theory of evolution and drove it home, even coining the term “Survival of the fittest”.

Industrialization began in 1877 and ended in 1900 the United States (U.S.). To have Industrialization, you must have these four things: natural resources, transportation, urbanization, and technology. During this era, jobs became a necessity for citizens in the United States, industries began to boom as well as new homes for people, but that also caused problems. Transportation was developed and it made life easier for transporting people and goods from place to place. Many inventions helped the United States with many things. For example, the telegraph helped send messages and the light bulb helped people see in the dark. Also, many Americans were losing their jobs because of immigration. Children during this time period had it just as rough as the adults, maybe even more than them. The Industrial Revolution led to the growth of cities, industries, new inventions, and major points that created transportation and housing for citizens because of new jobs and productions.

Most people regard industrialization as a positive development capable of generating great wealth and revitalizing run-down areas. Mention industrialization today, and it brings to mind large factories organized with the latest technologies in mass producing. Along with these visions comes the promise of more jobs for the community, higher rates of pay, and financial stability. One can only think of the positive influences on a community that the opening of a new factory could bring, but during what some have deemed the Industrial Revolution, industrialization only meant using machines and new power sources to accomplish a task formerly done by human and animal power. Our modern day conception of industrialization can greatly influence our