Hi everybody.

I have always thought that Social Darwinist ideas met huge success in post Civil War America. However, I recently ran into this old statement by historian David Hollinger who, referring to the American case, wrote: “Social Darwinism can now claim a dubious honor: that it has been shown not to have existed in more places than any other movement in the history of social theory” (Annals of Science, 1976, vol.33, p.476).

 

Can anyone help with some recent literature on the true spread of Social Darwinist views in the US? Note that I am NOT interested in interpretations of Spencer, etc., but only in data proving (or disproving) Hollinger’s words, if any exist.

 

Thanks a lot,

Nicola Giocoli

University of Pisa