Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter
Richard Hofstadter (born August 6, 1916, in Buffalo, New York) was a prominent American historian known for his insightful analysis of American political culture and history. He was a professor at Columbia University and received the Pulitzer Prize for his work in the field. Hofstadter's scholarship has significantly shaped our understanding of American political thought and the broader cultural landscape.
Richard Hofstadter Books
(3 Books)
Includes visual key and plant selection chart for 323 shrubs, as well as "more than 450 color photographs and 200 black-and-white drawings."
Synopsis: Social Darwinism in American Thought portrays the overall influence of Darwin on American social theory and the notable battle waged among thinkers over the implications of evolutionary theory for social thought and political action. Theorists such as Herbert Spencer and William Graham Sumner adopted the idea of the struggle for existence as justification for the evils as well as the benefits of laissez-faire modern industrial society. Others such as William James and John Dewey argued that human planning was needed to direct social development and improve upon the natural order. Hofstadter's classic study of the ramifications of Darwinism is a major analysis of the social philosophies that animated intellectual movements of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.