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Social Darwinism and Eugenics

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             Social Darwinism in the United States in the late nineteenth century seems to have been the logical path for social theorists after the industrial revolution. The country had just experienced an industrial revolution and business was booming. Of course, along with the industrial revolution came larger separation of the social classes and countless poor. There was also a shift in immigration from western to eastern European many of whom would become the working class. The ardent question then became, what to do with the poor and how to deal with the new immigrants that were mostly seen as less civilized then western Europeans. Another class had also recently been created in the late 1800's, freed slaves. Social Darwinism then became a way for the white middle and upper classes to deal with their anxieties towards the other classes and races. Connecting these social questions and evolutionary theory of survival of the fittest was the answer that was championed by Herbert Spencer amongst others. Another was mutual aid, working together to make the society as a whole greater. .
             How did social Darwinism then become synonymous with science? It seems that many so called social Darwinists were linked with Darwin's theory of evolution. Herbert Spencer had a hand in Darwin's theory of evolution by coining the term "survival of the fittest" which Darwin later used himself. Thomas Huxley also played a role in this phenomenon because he was a biologist and strong supporter of Darwin. But as Bannister pointed out "the early Darwinians were not social Darwinists" and "many so called social Darwinists were not Darwinians." Or in other words, early Darwinians were scientists that backed Charles Darwin's' theory of evolution but did not necessarily go along with natural selection especially among humans and therefore were not social Darwinists. Also many social Darwinists simply were not believers of the science of Charles Darwin and consequently were not Darwinists.


Essays Related to Social Darwinism and Eugenics

1. Social Darwinism

... of someone who was unfit. Governments created Eugenics programs designed to weed-out undesirable genes from the population. Twenty four states passed sterilization laws which prevented criminals and mentally ill people to reproduce. Social Darwinism also encouraged larger military and foreign expansion, thinking only the fittest country could survive. The Nazi Party in Germany used Social Darwinism to justify their eugenics programs in order to create a superior race ... , by eliminating Jews and gypsies they felt to be a drag on society. Through time social Darwinism has evolved in the ...

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2. Racism and Ethnicity

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3. Natural Selection and the Human Race

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4. Comparison Between Piaget and Vygotsky

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5. Creation...

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6. Industial Revolution

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7. Exterminate All the Brutes by Sven Lindqvist

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8. the germans vs. the jews

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9. The Big One

... new philosophies which evolved from Darwin's theories were decidedly secular, not unlike Darwin's theory itself. One of the most influential social and ethical philosophies associated with Darwin's theory was that of the British philosopher, Herbert Spencer. Popularly dubbed "Social Darwinism," Spencer first conceived the phrase "Survival of the Fittest." His theories proposed that human society progressed as a result of ... competition, and that it was ethically incumbent upon the strong members of society to avoid helping their weaker counterparts, lest the society, ... out of the dark...

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