The new fortunes and the new poverty of the industrial age raised hard questions. Is great wealth earned? What do the rich owe others? And after Jim Crow, how should Black Americans win their rights? Thinkers gave very different answers.
Key idea
Four answers about wealth and society: Carnegie's "Gospel of Wealth" (the rich should give their fortunes away wisely), Social Darwinism (competition sorts the fit from the unfit, so government should not interfere), the Social Gospel (faith calls Christians to reform society) and reformers' plans such as Henry George's single tax. Two strategies for Black advancement: Booker T. Washington (skills and economic progress first) and W. E. B. Du Bois (full rights and higher education now).
| Idea | Who | Main claim |
|---|---|---|
| Gospel of Wealth | Andrew Carnegie (1889) | Wealth is a trust; the rich should spend it in life on libraries, schools and other public goods |
| Social Darwinism | Herbert Spencer, William Graham Sumner | Society advances through competition; aid to the poor and regulation of business hold it back |
| Social Gospel | Washington Gladden, Walter Rauschenbusch | Christians should fix the conditions that cause poverty: slums, child labor, unsafe work |
| Accommodation, self-help | Booker T. Washington (Atlanta, 1895) | Build skills, property and economic strength first; accept segregation for now |
| Full rights now | W. E. B. Du Bois (1903) | Demand the vote, civil rights and higher education; train leaders (the "Talented Tenth") |
Why it works
These ideas mattered because they shaped what people thought government should do. If competition was natural law, then laws limiting hours or breaking up trusts were mistakes. If society made poverty, then reform was a duty. Washington and Du Bois both wanted Black Americans to rise; they disagreed about the order and the means. Washington built Tuskegee Institute and won support from white business leaders; Du Bois helped found the Niagara Movement (1905) and the NAACP (1909).
Work it through
Worked example: Match the view
A speaker in 1900 says: "Do not ask the government to help the poor; struggle makes the strong stronger." Which idea is this?
- It rejects help for the poor and praises competition.
- The Gospel of Wealth asks the rich to give; the Social Gospel asks for reform.
- Praising struggle and opposing aid is Social Darwinism.
Answer: Social Darwinism.
Common mistake
Students often think Washington and Du Bois agreed. They shared the goal of Black progress but split over strategy: Washington stressed vocational education and economic progress first and did not openly challenge segregation; Du Bois demanded full civil and political rights and higher education now. Present each in his own terms; both had large followings.