Alfred Russel Wallace's North American tour: Transatlantic evolutionism

Evolutionary theory aroused vigorous debate in the late-19th century, regar ding both its scientific status and its sociocultural implications. Alfred Russel Wallace's lecture tour of North America, during 1886-1887, affords a striking insight into his particular interpretation of evolution and revea ls the depth of his conviction that science was inseparable from ethical an d political realities. Wallace's views on matters scientific and cultural w ere as controversial and significant in North America as they were in Great Britain and Europe.