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William Graham Sumner 1840–1910 - United States

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Columbia Encyclopedia

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  Advocated a policy of extreme laissez-faire, strongly opposing any government measures that he thought interfered with the natural economics of trade. As a sociologist he did valuable work in charting the evolution of human customs—folkways and mores. He concluded that the power of these forces, developed in the course of human evolution, rendered useless any attempts at social reform. He also originated the concept of ethnocentrism, a term now commonly used, to designate attitudes of superiority about one’s own group in comparison with others. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2003 Columbia University Press

Reading

Science of Society by Sumner and Albert G. Keller1927 (4 vol.; Vol. IV by Sumner, Keller, and M. R. Davie).

• "The Causes of the Farmer's Discontent," 1873, Nation
• History of American Currency: with chapters on the English bank restriction and Austrian paper money : to which is appended "The bullion report", 1874 
• "Monetary Development", 1875, Harper's
• "Politics in America, 1776 - 1876", 1876, NAR
• Lectures on the History of Protection in the United States, 1877
• "What Our Boys are Reading", 1878, Scribner's
• "The National Bank Circulation", 1878, Scribner's
• "Professor Walker on Bi-Metallism,", 1878, Nation
• "Socialism", 1878, Scribner's
• "The Commercial Crisis of 1837", 1879 Scribner's
• "Bimetallism", 1879, Princeton Review
• "The Theory and Practice of Elections", 1880, Princeton Review
• "The Argument Against Protective Tariffs", 1881, Princeton Review
• "Shall Americans Own Ships?", 1881, 
• "Sociology", 1881, Princeton Review
• "Wages", 1882, Princeton Review
• Andrew Jackson as a Public Man, 1882
• "Protective Taxes and Wages", 1883, NAR
• "The Absurd Effort to Make the World Over", 1883 (extracts)
• What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, 1883. (extract)
• "The Survival of the Fittest", 1884,  Index
• "Sociological Fallacies", 1884, NAR
• "Evils of the Tariff System", with D.A. Wells, T.G. Shearman, J.B. Sargent, 1884, NAR
• "Shall Silver be Demonetizied?", 1885, NAR
• Collected Essays in Political and Social Science, 1885
• "Mr. Blaine on the Tariff", 1886, NAR
• "State Interference", 1887, NAR
• Protectionism: the -ism which teaches that waste makes wealth, 1887.
• Alexander Hamilton, 1890
• The Financier & the finances of the American Revolution, 1891
• A History of Banking in all the leading nations, 1896
• "On Empire and the Philippines", 1898 (extract)
• "The Conquest of the United States by Spain", 1899, Yale Law Journal (copy)
• Folkways: a study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals, 1906
• War and Other Essays, 1911
• Earth-hunger and other essays, 1913
• The Challenge of Facts and Other Essays, 1914 (extract, extract)
• "The Forgotten Man", 1916?
• The Forgotten Man, and Other Essays, 1917
• Science of Society, with A.G. Keller, 1927. 

Writing Available on the Internet

• History of American Currency: with chapters on the English bank restriction and Austrian paper money : to which is appended "The bullion report", 1874 
• "Monetary Development", 1875, Harper's
• "Politics in America, 1776 - 1876", 1876, NAR
• "What Our Boys are Reading", 1878, Scribner's
• "The National Bank Circulation", 1878, Scribner's
• "Socialism", 1878, Scribner's
• "The Commercial Crisis of 1837", 1879 Scribner's
• "Bimetallism", 1879, Princeton Review
• "The Theory and Practice of Elections", 1880, Princeton Review
• "The Argument Against Protective Tariffs", 1881, Princeton Review
• "Shall Americans Own Ships?", 1881, 
• "Sociology", 1881, Princeton Review
• "Wages", 1882, Princeton Review
• "Protective Taxes and Wages", 1883, NAR
• "The Absurd Effort to Make the World Over", 1883 (extracts)
• What Social Classes Owe to Each Other, 1883. (extract)
• "Sociological Fallacies", 1884, NAR
• "Evils of the Tariff System", with D.A. Wells, T.G. Shearman, J.B. Sargent, 1884, NAR
• "Shall Silver be Demonetizied?", 1885, NAR
• "Mr. Blaine on the Tariff", 1886, NAR
• "State Interference", 1887, NAR
• "On Empire and the Philippines", 1898 (extract)
• "The Conquest of the United States by Spain", 1899, Yale Law Journal (copy)
• The Challenge of Facts and Other Essays, 1914 (extract, extract)
• "The Forgotten Man", 1916?

Commentary

William Graham Sumner

See H. E. Starr, William Graham Sumner (1925); A. G. Keller, Reminiscences (Mainly Personal) of William Graham Sumner (1933); W. G. Green, Sumner Today (1940, repr. 1971); R. G. McCloskey, American Conservatism in the Age of Enterprise (1951, repr. 1964); M. R. Davie, William Graham Sumner (1963).

Quotations

There are two chief things with which government has to deal. They are the property of men and the honor of women.