In order to prepare for this discussion forum:
Review and identify the relevant sections of Chapter 19, that support your discussion.
Review background information on the works of Horatio Alger Jr., and read one of his short stories:
Ragged Dick, available on this linked site. http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/gilded/people/text3/alger.pdfLinks to an external site.
Read this selection from Andrew Carnegie’s The Gospel of Wealth on this link.Download on this link.
Read this brief selection on Social Darwinism, Links to an external site.written by Herbert Spencer, 1857, who applied Darwin’s theories of evolution to society. He also coined the phrase “survival of the fittest.”
After you have completed your readings post your response to one of the topics in the following question:
How would you respond to someone who presents you with the arguments proposed by Social Darwinists, OR the stories written by Horatio Alger, OR Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth (choose ONLY one of these), to explain the success or failures of individuals in the society?
What evidence would you use to support your position? For this discussion, you must first identify and present their arguments, and then your counterargument.
As you collect your information for this discussion you should keep in mind the opportunities that were available to many, but also the climate of racism that permeated parts of the American society and the legalized discrimination that existed.