Goldwin Smith

Goldwin Smith – Life, Work, and Controversial Legacy

Explore the life, scholarship, and contentious views of Goldwin Smith (1823–1910), the British-Canadian historian, public intellectual, and polemicist. Learn about his academic career, political engagements, writings, and famous quotations.

Introduction

Goldwin Smith (13 August 1823 – 7 June 1910) was a historian, essayist, lecturer, and public intellectual whose life bridges Victorian Britain and nascent Canada. Though born in England, Smith spent a significant portion of his career in North America, especially in Canada, where he became a prominent voice on politics, history, and cultural debates. Known for his spirited writing, reformist stances in education, and deeply held (and often controversial) views on race, empire, and suffrage, Smith left a legacy that continues to provoke discussion.

Early Life and Education

Goldwin Smith was born in Reading, Berkshire, England. Eton College and later at Magdalen College, Oxford.

During his Oxford years, Smith engaged in debates about university reform, education, and the proper role of classical and modern studies. Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford, a position he held until 1866.

Though he produced no single magnum opus in historiography, Smith was prolific in lecturing and publishing essays.

Academic Career & Move to North America

Oxford Years & Reformist Impulses

As Regius Professor, Smith was deeply involved in issues of university reform—how curricula, faculty, and governance should evolve to the needs of modern society.

However, personal and family circumstances intervened: in 1866, he resigned his chair to attend to his father, who had suffered in a railway accident.

Cornell & Canadian Life

In 1868, Smith relocated to North America, accepting a position at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he held the chair of English and Constitutional History.

However, tensions emerged—most notably over the issue of coeducation. Smith opposed the admission of women to Cornell, believing it would degrade the university’s standards. When the institution chose to admit women, he resigned in protest.

After leaving Cornell, he settled in Toronto, Canada, joining the literary, civic, and intellectual life there.

Writings, Themes & Political Views

Historical & Scholarly Output

Smith’s historical work tended toward polished narrative rather than original archival scholarship. His better-known books include:

• The United States: An Outline of Political History (1893)

• The United Kingdom: A Political History (1899)

He also published essays, polemics, and pamphlets on a wide range of topics: university reform, empire, suffrage, anti-imperialism, and social questions.

Smith believed that ancient history and classical texts were vital to cultivating the “historical sense.”

Political & Social Positions

Smith’s political views were complex and at times contradictory:

• He supported the Union cause in the American Civil War and wrote pamphlets opposing slavery.

• He was a vocal anti-imperialist regarding British colonial wars (e.g. opposed the Boer War).

• Yet, on Indian rule, he expressed some admiration for Britain’s governance of India, while opposing representative reforms.

• He opposed women’s suffrage, viewing changes in the sexes’ political relation as destabilizing to society.

• He held Anglo-Saxonist ideas and believed in a certain racial and cultural hierarchy among English-speaking peoples.

• His writings also exhibited antisemitic sentiments, harsh language about Jews, and advocacy of exclusion or assimilationist policies.

Because of such views, in modern times institutions have reexamined how they honor his legacy (for example Cornell’s decision to remove his name from certain significant titles).

Legacy, Influence & Controversy

Goldwin Smith’s legacy is deeply contested. On one hand, he is remembered for his rhetorical skill, his role as public intellectual, and his efforts in educational discourse. On the other, his exclusionary and prejudiced views mar his reputation.

At Cornell, Goldwin Smith Hall was named in his honor, and the motto “Above all nations is humanity”—a phrase he popularized—was displayed.

In Canada, Smith influenced debates on national identity, free trade, and cultural policy. His writing shaped the contours of intellectual journalism in late 19th-century Toronto.

Historians treat him not as a great innovator in historical method, but as a gifted essayist and polemicist who reflected Victorian-era intellectual currents—both of their aspirations and their blind spots.

Personality and Intellectual Style

Smith was known for his incisive prose, intellectual confidence, and willingness to engage in public controversy. He could be polemical and harsh in tone when defending his convictions.

He believed in the power of history as moral instruction, and saw historical writing as a means of shaping civic awareness. At the same time, he often prioritized rhetoric over nuance on issues of society and culture.

He combined classical education, moral zeal, and strong convictions about race, gender, and civilization—traits both admired and criticized by later readers.

Selected Quotes of Goldwin Smith

Here are a few of his more quoted lines (with the caveat that they reflect a particular era and worldview):

“Above all nations is humanity.” “No student of history can fail to see the moral interest of the Middle Ages, any more than an artist can fail to see their aesthetic interest.” “Every one who has a heart, however ignorant of architecture he may be, feels the transcendent beauty and poetry of the mediaeval churches.” “America is supposed to be given over to ugliness. There are a good many ugly things there and the ugliest are the most pretentious.” “In my youth, geology was nervously striving to accommodate itself to Genesis. Now it is Genesis that is striving to accommodate itself to geology.”

These statements show his aesthetic sensibilities, his moral tone, and his stance on culture and religion.

Lessons from Goldwin Smith

1. The power and limits of intellect. Smith shows how eloquence and erudition can influence debate—but also how dogma and bias can undermine credibility.

2. Public intellectualism carries responsibility. When a thinker engages in public life, their views—especially on social issues—are subject to lasting scrutiny.

3. Context matters. Some of Smith’s views must be understood in the Victorian milieu; but that doesn’t excuse harmful positions.

4. Legacy is contested. Historians must weigh both contributions and harm when assessing figures like Smith.

5. History as moral mirror. Smith believed historical study should instruct ethics and civic virtue—but also sometimes imposed moral judgments in unrefined ways.

Conclusion

Goldwin Smith occupies a paradoxical place in intellectual history. He was an eloquent scholar, advocate for educational reform, and a provocative voice in public life. Yet he also held views—on gender, race, empire, and religion—that many now find deeply objectionable. His life invites us to reflect on the power of ideas, the importance of intellectual scrutiny, and the complexities of judging historical figures in their time.