In the late 19th century, America experienced unprecedented growth in large industries and businesses. Entrepreneurs who owned these companies became very rich, and very quickly. The success of men such as Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller illustrated something else that was growing in the United States- the gap between the rich and the poor, or economic inequality.
Theories were created to explain why some people succeeded and others did not. The most prominent philosophy of the time was Social Darwinism. Based on Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, Social Darwinism suggested that only the "fittest" and most capable people survive and succeed in society. William G. Sumner was a Yale professor and Social Darwinist. Sumner believed that a person's work ethic and independence determined if they would succeed or fail in business and in life. In Sumner's eyes, this competition was natural would result in the "beneficent elimination of the ill-adapted". (Source: www.britannica.com) Economically, a "laissez-faire" approach (with no government regulation) would be the best system to encourage this capitalist competition.
John Dewey was an educator and reformer who took a slightly different view. Dewey observed that industrialization had quickly brought wealth for only a few people, rather than benefiting society as a whole. Dewey feared that this threatened democracy and believed that education was the key for individuals who wanted to improve their economic and social position. Dewey theorized that men were creatures of habit and that education would help people to change their ways of thinking. Allowing people the opportunity to discover what they were best at could potentially open avenues for success that were not there before. (See image: Courtesy of Wikipedia)