1. Social Darwinism William Graham Sumner was the leading proponent of social Darwinism in the United States. “If … men were willing to set to work with energy and courage … all might live in plenty and prosperity. But if they insist on remaining in the slums of great cities … there is no device … which can prevent them from falling victims to poverty and misery or from succumbing in the competition of life to those who have greater command of capital.” Walter Rauschenbusch lived among the poor in New York City. He found fault with the attitude of the rich toward the working class. “Competitive commerce exalts selfishness to the dignity of a moral principle. It pits men against one another in a gladiatorial game in which there is no mercy and in which ninety percent of the combatants finally strew the arena … If the rich had only what they earned, and the poor had all that they earned … life would be more sane.”

2. Andrew Carnegie Man of Steel

3. Carnegie A. Steel Industry 1. A few business men recognized the potential of steel, especially with the newer, cheaper process: The Bessemer Process 1. Andrew Carnegie- Already relatively wealthy based on railroad investments. a. Took a risk, and plunged into the steel business. b. At first, it was only to provide his rail road lines with steel tracks for cheap!

4. Carnegie 3. Ruthless businessman a. Carnegie operated at maximum speed b. Cut costs to the bone, lowered wages, replaced disgruntled workers with cheaper immigrants. c. Took over companies simply by lying, out- smarting, and out-spending them.

5. Carnegie B. Early life 1. Began in a middle-class Scottish family, his father was a well-to-do weaver. a. Grew up in Dunfermline, Scotland 2. However, during the industrial revolution, his father was thrown out of work. b. The family went from respected business owners to working poor, with his mother bringing in money doing laundry. b. His father quit working, and never truly recovered.

6. Carnegie 3. This experience had a gigantic impact on his drive to become extremely wealthy and powerful. a. It also cemented his beliefs in “social darwinism” in which you are only poor if you are lazy/incompetent

7. Carnegie Later in his life, Andrew Carnegie combined philanthropy with Social Darwinism: He used his vast fortune to set up hundreds of libraries and other public institutions, including a university, for the benefit of those who would choose to use such resources. He opposed direct and indiscriminate handouts to the poor because he felt that this favored the undeserving and the deserving person equally.