<P> Herbert Spencer ( 1820 -- 1903 ) , the English philosopher , was one of the most popular and influential 19th - century sociologists . The early sociology of Spencer came about broadly as a reaction to Comte and Marx ; writing before and after the Darwinian revolution in biology , Spencer attempted to reformulate the discipline in what we might now describe as socially Darwinistic terms . In fact , his early writings show a coherent theory of general evolution several years before Darwin published anything on the subject . Encouraged by his friend and follower Edward L. Youmans , Spencer published The Study of Sociology in 1874 , which was the first book with the term `` sociology '' in the title . In the 1900 edition of the journal International Monthly , Franklin H. Giddings ( 1855 -- 1931 ) , the first professor of sociology at Columbia University , described it as the book that `` first awakened in England , America , France , Italy and Russia a wide interest general interest '' in the then fledgling discipline of sociology . In the United States , Charles Horton Cooley , stated in a 1920 article that The Study of Sociology `` probably did more to arouse interest in the subject than any other publication before or since . '' It is estimated that he sold one million books in his lifetime , far more than any other sociologist at the time . So strong was his influence that many other 19th century thinkers , including Émile Durkheim , defined their ideas in relation to his . Durkheim 's Division of Labour in Society is to a large extent an extended debate with Spencer from whose sociology Durkheim borrowed extensively . Also a notable biologist , Spencer coined the term `` survival of the fittest '' as a basic mechanism by which more effective socio - cultural forms progressed . Whilst many intellectuals of his day were proponents of socialism as a scientifically informed manner of steering society , Spencer was a critic of socialism and an advocate for a laissez - faire style of government . His ideas were highly observed by conservative political circles , especially in the United States and England . Although Spencer 's work is rarely discussed in contemporary sociological theory , his work has been adapted and changed , and resurfaces in various contemporary forms . </P>
<P> Herbert Spencer ( 1820 -- 1903 ) , the English philosopher , was one of the most popular and influential 19th - century sociologists . The early sociology of Spencer came about broadly as a reaction to Comte and Marx ; writing before and after the Darwinian revolution in biology , Spencer attempted to reformulate the discipline in what we might now describe as socially Darwinistic terms . In fact , his early writings show a coherent theory of general evolution several years before Darwin published anything on the subject . Encouraged by his friend and follower Edward L. Youmans , Spencer published The Study of Sociology in 1874 , which was the first book with the term `` sociology '' in the title . In the 1900 edition of the journal International Monthly , Franklin H. Giddings ( 1855 -- 1931 ) , the first professor of sociology at Columbia University , described it as the book that `` first awakened in England , America , France , Italy and Russia a wide interest general interest '' in the then fledgling discipline of sociology . In the United States , Charles Horton Cooley , stated in a 1920 article that The Study of Sociology `` probably did more to arouse interest in the subject than any other publication before or since . '' It is estimated that he sold one million books in his lifetime , far more than any other sociologist at the time . So strong was his influence that many other 19th century thinkers , including Émile Durkheim , defined their ideas in relation to his . Durkheim 's Division of Labour in Society is to a large extent an extended debate with Spencer from whose sociology Durkheim borrowed extensively . Also a notable biologist , Spencer coined the term `` survival of the fittest '' as a basic mechanism by which more effective socio - cultural forms progressed . Whilst many intellectuals of his day were proponents of socialism as a scientifically informed manner of steering society , Spencer was a critic of socialism and an advocate for a laissez - faire style of government . His ideas were highly observed by conservative political circles , especially in the United States and England . Although Spencer 's work is rarely discussed in contemporary sociological theory , his work has been adapted and changed , and resurfaces in various contemporary forms . </P>
when did sociology first took root in the united states
when did sociology first took root in the united states
1874
1874