William Graham Sumner
American sociologist and Yale professor (1840–1910) who coined "the forgotten man" and "ethnocentrism".
At a glance
Main ideas
The forgotten man, Laissez-faire, Folkways …
See all 5Books to start with
Andrew Jackson as a Public Man, What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, Folkways
See all 3Connections
Herbert Spencer and What Social Classes Owe to Each Other
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Sumner was an American Episcopal priest turned social scientist who spent almost his whole career at Yale, where he held the country's first professorship in sociology.
- He backed laissez-faire economics, free trade and the gold standard and opposed socialism.
- He coined "the forgotten man" for the middle-class citizen who pays for reformers' schemes, and "ethnocentrism" for a root of imperialism, which he strongly opposed.
- He is often called a social Darwinist, a label some historians say misrepresents him.
Why it matters
- He was one of Yale's most influential teachers and had a prolonged influence on American conservatism.
Key facts
- Born
- 30 Oct 1840, Paterson, New Jersey1
- Died
- 12 Apr 1910, Englewood Hospital, New Jersey, after a stroke1
- Education
- Yale College, graduated 1863; the universities of Geneva and Göttingen; theology at Oxford from 18661
- Clergyman
- Ordained an Episcopal deacon in 1867 and priest in 1869; rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Morristown, from 1870 to 18721
- Yale
- Professor of political and social science from 1872 to 19091
- Sociology
- Taught the first course titled "sociology" in the English-speaking world, in 1876; president of the American Sociological Society from 1908 to 19091
- Anti-imperialism
- A vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League; opposed the Spanish–American War1
- Academic freedom
- Refused Yale president Noah Porter's request to stop teaching Herbert Spencer's Study of Sociology, and won1
Main ideas
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The forgotten man1
When A and B pass a law to make C help X, C is the forgotten man, "the victim of the reformer, social speculator and philanthropist".
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Laissez-faire1
He backed free markets, free trade and the gold standard, and was a foe of socialism.
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Folkways1
His study of folkways led him to conclude that government-mandated reform was useless.
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Struggle for existence and competition for life1
People struggle against nature for needs and so compete with one another; law cannot abolish that.
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Against imperialism1
"The Conquest of the United States by Spain" (1899) called imperialism a betrayal of America's founding as a state of equals.
Books to start with
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Andrew Jackson as a Public Man1
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What Social Classes Owe to Each Other1
A short book that earned him a reputation as the Gilded Age's leading "social Darwinist".
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Folkways1
Folkways: a study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals.
Connections
Links
Sources
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