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Nineteenth Century
Progress
Progress or Regression?
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Anglo-Saxon Destiny
Does Anglo-Saxon Destiny remind you of any other
“destiny” from history?
Imperialism
Imperialism: policy of extending a nation’s authority by
establishing political or economic control over another
area or people economic exploitation, racial
prejudice (idea)
Colonialism: the policy or practice of acquiring full or
partial political control over another country,
occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it
economically  Implementing settlements (practice)
New Ideas in Science
Pay attention to rhetoric
Charles Darwin
English Naturalist
How do we account for the variety
of plants and animals on earth?
Widely accepted answer:
Special Creation—every species
had been created separately by
God; Each species came into
existence at once and had not
changed since its creation.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Challenged the idea
of Special Creation
Theory: all forms of
life evolved from
earlier living forms
Species adapt to their
changing environment
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
What is natural selection? How does
natural selection affect evolution?
On the Origin of Species by
Means of Natural Selection, 1859
1. Populations grow faster than food supply, thus
competition
2. Survival of the fittest: the creatures best adapted to
their environment, or most successful at competing will
survive, the rest perish
3. Survivor offspring who share their advantages
Theory of Evolution: Species evolve over time, change
through natural selection
The Descent of Man, 1871
“The main conclusion
arrived at in this work,
namely that man is
descended from some lowly
organized form, will, I
regret to think be highly
distasteful to many. But
there can hardly be a doubt
that we are descended from
barbarians.”
Humankind’s ancestors
are chimpanzees
“No scientific idea of modern times
aroused more controversy than the work
of English naturalist Charles Darwin.”
-McDougal Littell, World History: Patterns of Interaction
Do you think Darwin’s work is controversial?
What would have made his ideas contentious for the
time?
Connections to Heliocentric vs. Geocentric Theory?
Science and Faith
Fueled disputes between
science and faith
Irreligious- Evolution not
taught in some schools
Contradicts the story of
Genesis in the Bible
Challenges this humancentric narrative, humans
are God’s miraculous
creation
“Man may be excused for feeling some
pride at having risen, though not
through his own exertions, to the very
summit of the organic scale; and the
fact of his having thus risen, instead of
having been aboriginally placed there,
may give him hope for a still higher
destiny in the distant future.”
Charles Darwin, 1871, The Descent
of Man
Social Darwinism
Ideas applied to ideas of economics and
politics.
Social Darwinist distort and misapply
Darwin’s ideas to confirm competition
among races and to justify imperialism
Herbert Spencer: English philosopher
1. Free economic competition (capitalism)
was natural selection Best companies
made profit, inferior ones went bankrupt
2. Individuals: fittest for survival enjoyed
wealth
Silent Discussion
Around the room are various quotes relating to Social
Darwinism.
Read the quote, write a reaction, connection, question,
Evidence of Social Darwinism? Foreshadowing? Author and
Titles
Leave your initials
Respond to other comments
Pay attention to the language used
This is a silent discussion
Social Darwinism
What do some identify as qualities that make
superior humans?
To what extent is Social Darwinism a corruption
of Darwinist theories? Or is it simply a logical
extension and application of the theories?
How could Social Darwinism serve as a
rationalization for imperialism and colonialism?
Social Darwinism Becomes a
Rationalization
In general, imperialistic nations felt compelled to
justify their actions by explaining why they have taken
control of territory or populations Their answer,
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinists held that only the fittest peoples
would survive and that “lesser breeds” would of
necessity perish or be taken over. Many argued that
countries and empires were living organisms that had
to grow or die.
Social Darwinism
Duty to bring civilization to barbaric peoples
Imperialistic wars framed as moral crusades
Progress
“It is not to be doubted that this country
[England] has been invested with wealth
and power, with arts and knowledge, with
the sway of distant lands, and the mastery
of the restless waters, for some great and
important purpose in the government of
the world. Can we suppose otherwise than
that it is our office to carry civilization
and humanity, peace and good
government, and, above all, the
knowledge of the true God, to the utmost
ends of the world?”
–Reverend John Whewell, English
scientist, priest, theologian (1794-1866)
“Lust for dominion
inflames the heart
more than any other
passion.”
–Tacitus, a senator
of the Roman
Empire (AD 56-120)
“I am convinced that in the next
century, people will slaughter each
other by the millions because of
the difference of a degree or two in
the cephalic index (skull
measurements). It is by this
sign…that men will be
identified…and the last
sentimentalist will be able to
witness the most massive
extermination of peoples.”
–Vacher de Lapouge, French
anthropologist (1887)
“There is warrant for the
belief that Evolution can end
only in the establishment of
the greatest perfection and
the most complete
happiness.”
–Herbert Spencer, English
Philosopher, 1820-1903
“History shows me one way,
and one way only, in which a
high state of civilization has
been produced, namely, the
struggle of race with race, and
the survival of the physically
and mentally fitter race. If you
want to know whether the
lower races of man can evolve
a higher type, I fear the only
course is to leave them to fight
it our amount themselves.”
-Karl Pearson, German
scientist 1900
“If you bring the white man into
contact with the black, you too
often suspend the very process
of natural selection on which
the evolution of a higher type
depends. You get superior and
inferior races living on the same
soil, and that coexistence is
demoralizing for both. They
naturally sink into the position
of master and servant, if not
admittedly or covertly into that
of slave-owner and slave.”
-Karl Pearson, German scientist
1900
“I admit I was one of those who regretted the necessity for
the occupation of Egypt. I thought that England had so much
to
do,
such
enormous
obligations
and
responsibilities…Having seen what are the results of this
occupation, having seen what is the nature of the task we
have undertaken…I have changed my mind. I say it would be
unworthy of this great nation if we did not rise to the full
height of our duty, and complete our work before we left the
country. We have no right to abandon the duty which has
been cast upon us, and the work which already shows so
much promise for the advantage of the people with whose
destinies we have become involved.”
-Liberal statesman Joseph Chamberlain’s Address to Parliament,
1897
A Look Ahead
Eugenics: the science of improving a human
population by controlled breeding to increase the
occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics