Running Head: HISTORY INTERPRETATION TOOLS 1

History Interpretation Tools

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History Interpretation Tools

Historians have used primary tools from the past periods they are interested in to interpret

history since time immemorial. This system of study is convenient because naturally, people

leave behind traces of their lifestyle through newspaper articles, letters, and diaries. Once a

historian gets a glimpse of the information in these materials, then it is easy for them to

understand the past. As a historian, I will use this essay to analyse two articles: Herbert Spencer,

“The Coming Slavery” and Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” to make out of the period

from which they were written.

Herbert Spencer was a British journalist and sociologist who saw a correlation between

Charles Darwin’s theory on “survival of the fittest" and the average human social interactions.

Herbert used his article, "The Coming Slavery", to purposely make predictions on how the

society was headed to a time and age of total slavery. He argued that an individual who is not

sustainably energetic enough is doomed to seize to exist (Spencer, 1884). The message he was

trying to put across was that citizens should stop the habit of relying on the government and the

rich people to better themselves. Since every human is capable of doing work poverty is purely a

result of poor choices people make.

Furthermore, as earlier stated, Spencer believed that showing sympathy to those

considered as unfortunate in a society blinded them of their shortcomings. Individuals who are

not aware of their weaknesses are less likely to desire to reform. The Coming slaves is an article

that speaks about a generation of people who make no effort to better themselves to receive

sympathy from the successful (Spencer, 1884). Reading Herbert's article as a historian shows me

how people in the past were highly dependent on the rich for their success. The citizens preferred

the easy way of a comfort zone that created a social structure where the rich stayed rich, and the
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poor remained poor. As a result, the social gap in the past between the rich and the poor was

extremely high. Herbert writes this article in a time when the poor blamed the government and

private wealth for their state. The historical context of this article includes class discrimination,

complacency and power and wealth. Class discrimination existed at the time as a result of the

acquisition of power through wealth. The poor are seen as complacent in this article since they

can do more.

The Gospel of Wealth was written in 1889 by Andrew Carnegie, who was a Scottish

immigrant in America. Having acquired numerous wealth from his steel company, Carnegie felt

a deep conviction to give. He argued that it was a social duty of the rich to give to the poor

(Carnegie, 1889). The message Carnegie was trying to put across in his article was the need to

break the individualism state of living by contributing to the growth of the community. He

advocated for philanthropy, and we see how this has influenced many billionaires like Bill Gates

to start up foundations.

Reading the article, “The Gospel of Wealth”, shows how Carnegie existed in a world

where the rich were very few as compared to the poor and yet very reluctant and selfish in

promoting their neighbouring communities. I see how, in the past, many opportunities were not

exploited, and as such, the rich were ideally self-made (Carnegie, 1889). Since wealth was self-

acquired, the owners preferred to hand it down from generation to generation to preserve it.

Carnegie's idea was thus highly opposed. The rich preferred to enjoy their wealth with

extravagance and wasteful purchases, and as such, the class differentiation was profoundly felt.

The historical context of Carnegie's The Gospel of Wealth included a system of

extravagance and self-indulgence. Since the rich were few, they continued to be productive and

acquired mass wealth that they could not contain. Carnegie, therefore, made his goal to reduce
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that gap between the rich and poor. He endeavoured to make the poor successful by creating

opportunities to educate them through constructing libraries across America. He believed that

giving was the best way to spend surplus wealth since building the society would, in turn, reward

them.

Reading the two articles give a clear view of similar historical times (Greenwood, 2000).

We see how the two pieces: Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” and Herbert Spencer,

“The Coming Slavery”, speak to each other. Both articles talk about duty and moral

responsibility. Carnegie sees giving as a way of preparing the society. He contributed to the

growth and prosperity of the community by making education efficient through library

construction. He saw this as his moral obligation and as such encouraged other luxurious

counterparts to do the same. Spencer, on the other, uses a different angle to approach the aspect

of social duty and moral responsibility. His system approached social development from a lower

perspective where the poor were not encouraged to rely on the rich for their growth. I see a

significant similarity in Carnegie's and Spencer's articles since both of them had the society's best

interest at heart. It was necessary to have Carnegie's point of view since the rich could use

Spencer's theory to oppress the poor and it was essential to have Spencer's idea since the poor

could end up lazy and rely entirely on the aid of the rich.

Primary tools are necessary for a historian to interpret the past. Both Carnegie and

Spencer exist in the same period and as such speak to the same kind of people. Reading the two

articles show the state of time in which Carnegie and Spencer existed, respectively. I see how

both societies experienced a massive difference in class. I know how each nation desired growth

in all angles and how the two pioneers influenced their way of life. It is essential to study history

since it affects our present.

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References

Carnegie, A., & Kirkland, E. C. (1889). The gospel of wealth (pp. 1-44). FC Hagen & Company.

Spencer, H. (1884). THE COMING SLAVERY. The Contemporary review, 1866-1900, 45, 461-

482.

Greenwood, J. T., & Greenwood, J. T. (2000). The Gilded Age: A History in Documents. Oxford

University Press.