William Graham Sumner was an influential professor of sociology and
politics at Yale College and president of the American Sociological
Association from 1908 to 1909, and it was in this early classic textbook
of sociology, first published in 1906, that he coined the term folkways,
to denote the habits and customs of a society. He fully explores the
concept here, examining their influence on: - the struggle for
existence - labor and wealth - slavery - abortion, infanticide, and the
killing of the elderly - cannibalism - sex and marriage - blood revenge
and primitive justice - sacral harlotry and child sacrifice - popular
sports and drama - education and history - and much more. American
academic and author WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER (1840-1910) wrote numerous and
varied books including Andrew Jackson as a Public Man (1882) and What
Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1883).