Preview

Social Darwinism After Civil War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
275 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Darwinism After Civil War
After the Civil War, Americans adopted the idea of Social Darwinism and began to apply it to their own lives. The idea of Social Darwinism supported the death of “weaker” or “poorer” individuals so that the future generations of humans would be “stronger”. At the time immigrants from China and Native Americans were viewed as inferior by white people which caused the idea of Social Darwinism to be applied to them. The Americans thought that the Chinese and Native Americans were in a sense infecting their population with their less superior genes. As such, laws were put in place in order to disrupt their way of life and stop them from entering the country. For instance, the Pacific Railway Act allowed for the construction of the Transcontinental
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Summary: Questions On Civil War
    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Summary: Questions On Civil War

    Looking at the graphs on population and troops, why do you think Union states were able to raise a much larger army than the Confederacy?…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Great West Dbq
    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Great West Dbq

    Without the railroads, the West could never have become as populated as it did. And while the creation of Western railroad tracks only came about after interest had been sparked in the region by its natural potential, the tracks were nevertheless essential in realizing and acting on the interest. Before railroads were available, the trek west had been done by wagon, and had deterred many with its length, risk, and hardship (Doc. E). Thus, the transcontinental railroad and its subsidiary lines were central to Western development. Not only did their completion result in a massive westward migration and the virtual overnight creation of towns, but the massive labor required to create the tracks prompted the railroad companies to recruit over 12,000 Chinese workers (many from China itself), and the need for a market for the completed railroad convinced the companies to actively encourage Western settlement by selling their land cheaply and setting railroad rates low enough to be affordable by virtually anyone (Doc. G). The government similarly promoted expansion into the West with the Homestead Act and other decrees, which also offered land at token prices. Even before the highly nationalistic and pro-expansionist regime under the Republican Party came into play during and after the Civil War, the government had been partial to expansionism through such leaders as James K. Polk. Polk’s seizure of Oregon from the British and the Southwest and California from Mexico reflected the growing popularity and power of Manifest Destiny in justifying expansionism, and set the scene for the American dominance of the West (Doc.…

    • 976 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did The Federal Government Influence The Development Of The 19th Century?
    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did The Federal Government Influence The Development Of The 19th Century?

    The Interstate Commerce Act proved to be the first time that the federal government attempted to control the interstate business, rather successfully. The government took initiative, albeit very reluctantly, and regulated the railroad system when things went…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    First Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper
    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages

    First Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

    The First Transcontinental Railroad, originally known as the “Pacific Railroad” constituted one of the most significant and ambitious American technological advancements of the 19th century following the building of the Erie Canal in the 1820s and the crossing of the Isthmus of Panama by the Panama Railroad in 1855. It served as a vital link for trade, commerce and travel that joined the eastern and western halves of the late 19th-century United States. The transcontinental railroad slowly ended most of the slower and more hazardous stagecoach lines and wagon trains that had preceded it. They provided much faster, safer, and cheaper transport east and west for people and goods across half a continent. Although the railway spanned across…

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    AP US history essay immigration DBQ
    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages

    AP US history essay immigration DBQ

    During the late 19th century and early 20th century, immigration to the United States was wrought with challenges. The newly arriving aliens were met with racist native-borns who feared that they would threaten their way of life. This tension between these new groups facilitated the U.S. government’s anti-immigration laws, which also caused political outbursts from those who supported immigrants.…

    • 519 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gold Currency Analysis
    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gold Currency Analysis

    The increased demand for gold in California lead the production of railways across the United States. The Gold Rush lead to the completion of the Transcontinental Railway in 1869 which was built by Union Pacific and Central Pacific. The motivation for building of a nationwide railroads caused by the gold rush timeframe was a major factor in economic growth and lead to drastically increasing economic…

    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Does The Civil War: Does History Repeat Itself?
    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Does The Civil War: Does History Repeat Itself?

    Human nature is deep rooted in fighting over power, resources, or religion and many times it can occur on multiple occasions in one area over and over again. With that being said, does history repeat itself or is it human nature?…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    American Settlement Patterns
    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages

    American Settlement Patterns

    It wasn’t until 1862, though, that the Pacific Railroad Act enacted the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. For seven years the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies built, one starting on the east coast and the other on the west, and finally met in Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869. There the historic golden spike was driven in, uniting the country from east to west. This railroad became a quick form of transportation across the country, allowing migration to western states such as California. The Transcontinental Railroad also sped up the process of sending mail; previously, mail had been sent with horses, which could take weeks or months. The trains allowed mail to be transported in only a week or so. Trains made transportation much faster for both people and…

    • 677 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Compare Social Darwinism And American Society
    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page

    Compare Social Darwinism And American Society

    This essay will analyze the Darwinism Theory and how it was used to classify some people as inferior and justify actions against them. We will also look at how Social Darwinism and Eugenics effected the immigrant experience in America. Lastly why did Fundamentalist Christians opposed Darwinism.…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Stereotypes Of Race-Suicide And The Progressive Movement
    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Stereotypes Of Race-Suicide And The Progressive Movement

    Darwinism is the idea of “survival of the fittest,” particularly in regards to one’s rate of reproduction. Race-suicide refers to when a native population—the “superior” stock—is outbred by immigrants who are “racially inferior” to them. These terms are kindred in the eyes of eugenists, as the reproduction of these “inferior” immigrants could cause there to be less opportunities for the more “fit” and superior natives. Additionally, these Progressive Era eugenists based fitness not on Darwin’s criteria of a high reproduction rate, but rather on other attributes such as race. In page 209 of Retrospectives, a leading economist named Edward A. Ross argued that treating people of differing races as equal was dangerous, because it led to the deaths…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Negative Effects Of The Transcontinental Railroad
    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Negative Effects Of The Transcontinental Railroad

    Social Issue: The Transcontinental Railroad- Before the Transcontinental Railroad, traveling West in the United States was a costly and difficult journey through deserts, and over mountains. After the invention of locomotives, railroads began to show up everywhere. Many saw an opportunity in railroads to expand settlement in the west and transform the United States into a more modern nation. The Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies formed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, which was an agreement to build a transcontinental railroad that would begin in the east and west and meet together (History). The two railroads met on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Summit, Utah (Railroad. lindahall). The Transcontinental Railroad allowed cities to be built west and goods to be transported at a cheaper cost. It expanded the United States economy and brought more settlers to the west.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Civil War: Extensive Changes In American Life
    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Civil War: Extensive Changes In American Life

    The Civil War produced extensive changes in American life. The most dramatic of these was the destruction of slavery, the vital establishment of southern society. In numbers, scale, and the economic power of the institution of slavery, American emancipation overshadow that of any other country although far more people were freed in 1861 when Czar Alexander II abolished serfdom in the Russian empire. Lincoln initially insisted that slavery was irrelevant to the conflict. In the war’s first year, his top concerns were to keep the border slave states: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri in the Union and to build the widest base of support in the North for the war effort.…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Examining the Civil War
    • 3635 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Examining the Civil War

    A war that originated because the nation was divided ultimately marked the beginning of a truly unified United States. The Civil War put to rest the increasing sectionalism that divided the North, the South, and the newly colonized West. At the root were the issues of slavery in the South, and the attempt of the Southern states to withdraw from the Union. Although many lives and untold millions were lost in personal belongings, livestock, and structures, the Civil War set in motion the progression towards a unified Nation. During the 18th and 19th century, slavery was a very significant aspect of the development of the nation. The economic, social, and political development of the nation during this period was directly associated to slavery even though society condemned it as morally wrong. The following will detail the significance of slavery in the economic, social, and political development of the 18th and 19th century America. Additionally details will show the economic, social, and political impacts of the conflict as well as why a democratic nation failed to address the crisis peacefully.…

    • 3635 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    What Was Reconstruction After The Civil War?
    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages

    What Was Reconstruction After The Civil War?

    Supplies and good could be transported across the US in record time and allowed for news and ideas to be spread just as fast. The construction of the transcontinental railroad required a lot of work, as it stretched so far. Because of this, the government began to grant land to the railroad and its workers to not only build the railroad on but to also pay off the construction for those who helped build it. There were also immigrants who helped build the railroad, such as the Chinese.…

    • 1655 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Social Darwinism Essay Example
    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Social Darwinism Essay Example

    The upper class society embraced the theory while other "less fortunate" societies didn't. This bought about social progression, if one society didn't want to be the weakest society they would try to ‘progress' and become a stronger, more advanced society. Social Darwinism has been manipulated into different reasons behind certain objectives of leaders such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Andrew Carnegie. For example, Hitler justified the killing of thousands of humans by aiming his version of social Darwinism by weeding out undesirable genes from the population of the World War II era. Joseph Stalin allowed the less fortunate class to work for the country of Russia and barely get any money for themselves while the richer class and the government taxed the lower class so much that they could barely survive, Stalin justified this by saying the lower class was unfit and weak. The American Eugenics movement was relatively popular between the years of 1910-1930, during which 24 states passed sterilization laws and congress passed a law restricting immigration from certain areas deemed unfit. Although there is a good side to the manipulation of social Darwinism, some major capitalists such as Andrew Carnegie combined philanthropy with social Darwinism; he used his vast fortune to set…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics