9. The influence of frontier conditions upon the development of American society. F. J. Turner, The Frontier in American History, pp. 1-38.
10. Individualism. Herbert Spencer, Social Statics, pp. 100-136; C. W. Eliot, The Conflict between Individualism and Collectivism in a Democracy, pp. 1-42.
Questions
1. How would you define “society”? Is it an organism? What resemblances to an organism does it bear?
2. Explain the following terms: instinct; impulse; natural selection; social inheritance; social environment; habit; custom; fashion; mob mind; institution; social control. Give examples of each.
3. How has physical environment affected the ideas of the American people in relation to (a) national defence; (b) form of government; (c) social control? How has the physical environment of England affected the ideas of the English people on the same matters?
4. What racial characteristics do you find most strongly marked in the (a) Scotch; (b) Irish; (c) Scandinavians; (d) Italians; (e) Jews; (f) Japanese?
5. Name any institutions, other than those given in the text, which have served mankind for a time and been discarded.
6. Can you think of any customs which are universal throughout the world? Any which prevail in the United States but not elsewhere? Any which prevail in some parts of the United States but not in others?
7. Do Americans in general pay too much deference to custom? Is there any ground for the European idea that there is “too much uniformity” in American life?