Social Darwinism And The American Dream: The Gospel Of Wealth

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In the mid-to-late 1800s there were many social ideas being tossed around. A lot of them were justifications made by people in wealthy positions in what they could do with their extreme wealth while the majority lived in poverty. Darwinism was on the premise that only the fittest should survive. Others were a reaction to needed change. The theory known as the Gospel of Wealth does not give money directly to the poor but gives them the resources to become educated if they work for it. The Second Declaration of Independence worked to give workers some free time and decent wages. The Social Gospel worked to give better housing and unite laborers. Social Darwinism was the least American theory during the Gilded Age and gave an excuse to those with …show more content…

The Social Gospel worked missions to reduce poverty of laborers by calling out for higher wages, keeping children out of harsh labor and by working on getting better housing structures. Social Darwinism is directly opposing the American Dream. Where anyone from anywhere can come to America and can make a decent and better life for themselves. With Darwinism, immigrants coming from elsewhere with nothing but the clothes on their back would be disadvantaged from the start and would stay that way. They would not be given any tools to improve their status, they would just go into the factories and stay the unfit. The Gospel of Wealth and Second Declaration of Independence still follow the American dream. It gives those who want it the resources to become educated and successful as long as they put hard work into it. It also gives them the free time to use those resources and to pay for of them. Aside from Carnegie’s libraries still existing all over, you can still see his social ideas spread throughout America. People now have free time and decent wages comparatively to the late 1800s, just like Foner was working for. The Social Gospel missions at home are now very similar to missions in developing countries all over there world. People in menial labor jobs such as a janitor can take night classes to heighten themselves up in society. If Social Darwinism was still a dominant social theory, that would not be

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