The Social Darwinist ideology in American domestic policy at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries

This paper presents an attempt to analyze the interrelation between American domestic policy and the Social Darwinist ideology at the turn of the XIX–XX centuries. Soviet and Russian historiography presents a deep analysis of socio-economic and political processes in that period in terms of criticism of liberal ideology and market economics. Significant social stratification was explained by insufficiently developed socially directed normative base, illegal interaction between representatives of large business and politicians, the purpose of which was personal enrichment, etc. In general, the economic and political system of the United States in the late XIX – early XX centuries was criticized from Russian scientists. In Soviet literature the conclusion was made about the insolvency of «bourgeois ideology», with elements of criticism of Social Darwinism as a minor component of this ideology. American historiography considers the subject of our study more wholly. Foreign historiography, basically, analyzes the connection of American domestic policy with the activities of financial magnates, who were becoming a new serious power in American politics. This paper attempts to explain the connection between the American domestic policy and the Social Darwinist discourse, which was an undoubted part of the intellectual and daily life of citizens in that historical period. The author points to the significant influence of the Social Darwinist ideology in the adoption of key inner-political decisions by the government of the United States.