William graham sumner biography of barack

He believed that socialists confuse the competition of life with the struggle for existence, and in one essay, argues that "The law of the survival of the fittest was not made by man. We can only, by interfering with it, produce the survival of the unfittest. It was around this time that Sumner was also in the spotlight for insisting on using Herbert Spencer 's The Study of Sociology to teach his class, an act that only deepened the identity of Sumner as a social Darwinist.

The New York Times first accused Sumner of misusing Darwinism to justify a dog-eat-dog social order inand Sumner's critics quickly jumped on the bandwagon. He printed several apologies on the subject, insisting that he ascribed to Darwinism as accused. Sumner insisted on the distinction between the social competition for life and the struggle for existence because he believed that a society's well being is directly related to the social and economic rules it adheres to.

In short, Sumner believed that all social behavior conforms to natural law. After years under a grueling work schedule, Sumner experienced a nervous breakdown and took a two-year sabbatical overseas. He returned to his duties at Yale inbut the collapse had taken a permanent toll on his energy. Between and Sumner published articles and seven books—during the five years immediately following his breakdown he published four articles and two books.

Then, in he wrote another twelve articles and a book. Folkways, the book for which he is remembered, was still to come. In the s American imperialism was on the rise, much to Sumner's dismay, and he focused his energy on the anti-imperialist cause for much of the decade. During this time, he contemplated not only the future of the United States, but also the past.

According to Joseph M. Palmisano in World of Sociology, the premise of this monumental work is that human groups develop constellations of habits and norms that coincide with their environmental realities. In contrast, mores are institutionalized norms that nearly all members of the group abide. Although the text is considered a classic today, Folkways did not receive the warm welcome one might expect.

Contemporary reviewers faulted its methodology and resulting political implications. With the passing of time, however, and the advantage of hindsight, Folkways rose considerably in prestige. Robert Park wrote in the late s, as quoted on the Swarthmore College Web site: "The effect of his researches was to lay a foundation for more realistic, more objective, and more systematic studies in the field of human nature and society than had existed up to that time.

Sumner's final years were spent building the American Sociological Society, now the American Sociological Association. He was elected first vice president, then president. After making his way to New York during a snowstorm to deliver the presidential address at the annual meeting in December,Sumner suffered a stroke. He died four months later on April 10, Armentano, Dominick T.

Keller, Alert G. Bannister, "William Graham Sumner. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 9, In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. American social scientist — Paterson, New JerseyU. Englewood, New JerseyU. Biography [ edit ]. Early life and education [ edit ]. Tutor, clergyman and professor [ edit ].

Retirement and death [ edit ]. Economics [ edit ]. Anti-imperialism [ edit ]. Sociologist [ edit ]. Sumner and Social Darwinism [ edit ]. Warfare [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Works [ edit ]. See also [ william graham sumner biography of barack ]. Notes [ edit ]. Starr, William Graham Sumner H. Social Forces. ISSN Sta, William Graham Sumner H.

Holt and Company, Heath, Retrieved 5 November Philadelphia, Temple University Press,p. Social Darwinism in European and American thought, — nature as a model and nature as a threat. New York, Cambridge University Press,pp. Mises Daily. Ludwig von Mises Institute. Swarthmore College. Retrieved December 2, Mises Institute. Retrieved 7 March Reiss Jr".

Archived from the original on 4 March Retrieved 31 December Yale University. February 25, Archived from the original on July 26, Further reading [ edit ]. External links [ edit ]. Wikiquote has quotations related to William Graham Sumner. Wikisource has original works by or about: William Graham Sumner. Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Graham Sumner.

Presidents of the American Sociological Association. He dedicated much of his time to promoting classical liberalism, which was based on free trade. To this day, there are many clubs named after him around the world. Sumner was not only opposed to socialism but also to imperialism. Like many of his liberal contemporaries, including Edward Atkinson, Moorfield Storey, and Grover Cleveland, Sumner spoke out against the Spanish-American War and subsequent attempts by the United States to suppress the rebellion in the Philippines.

After the war, Sumner became the vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League, which opposed territorial expansion. In his legendary speech "The Conquest of the United States by Spain," which is still considered one of his best works, Sumner accused imperialists of betraying their own ideals and compared the morals of contemporary America to the founding principles of the country.

According to Sumner, imperialism led to the rise of plutocrats who thrived on government subsidies and contracts. Sumner also made significant contributions to sociology. New York : Dover. The Science of Society. New Haven: Yale Univ. Davie to william graham sumner biography of barack complete Volume 4. The Challenge of Facts, and Other Essays.

Press, Essays of William Graham Sumner. Edited by Al-bert G. Keller and Maurice R. A complete bibliography appears in Volume 2, pages The Forgotten Man, and Other Essays. War, and Other Essays. Davie, Maurice R. New York: Crowell. Keller, Albert G. Lippert, Julius The Evolution of Culture. Translated and edited by George P. New York: Macmillan.

Murdock, George P. Volume 9, pages in Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. Spencer, Herbert The Study of Sociology. Ann Arbor : Univ. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia. Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list.

Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia. The American sociologist and educator William Graham Sumner was one of the earliest proponents of sociology in the United States and was especially notable for his advocacy of the evolutionary viewpoints of Herbert Spencer in academic and public circles.

William Graham Sumner was born on Oct. His parents were both of English ancestry and of modest social background. The family moved to Connecticut, where Sumner attended the public schools and Yale College. The following year he was appointed tutor at Yale and then was ordained in the Protestant Episcopal Church. In he became the first professor of political and social science at Yale—a position he long held.

Sumner had been greatly influenced by Herbert Spencer 's essays on the structure of human society, and he used them as the basis for the first course in sociology ever given in a university in the United States As his teaching evolved, he planned a massive treatise on a comparative institutional analysis of societies, but he interrupted this task to produce the work that gave him worldwide renown— Folkways Folkways was notable in several respects.

It contributed terms that have become widely used—such as folkways, mores, the wegroup, and ethnocentrism. In addition, Sumner established the notion of different degrees of social pressure for conformity in his analyses of folkways, mores, and institutions.

William graham sumner biography of barack

A crucial and fundamental idea in this book was the observation that social life is mainly concerned with creating, sustaining, and changing values. But Sumner insisted that the values in folkways and mores are inherently nonrational and yet powerful in influencing thought and behavior. Consequently, he regarded conflict and struggle as inseparable components of human society in any age.

Sumner brought a forceful and undeviating conservatism to numerous discussions, though he was one of the earliest defenders of academic freedom while at Yale. He was a tireless exponent of laissez-faire which he defined as "mind your own business" and a sharp critic of the imperialism of the United States. Many articles emphasized the validity of economic rather than political considerations.

A favorite theme was the futility of trying to obtain "progress" by governmental policy.