It was Neibuhr who first began this work of freeing history from its mass of vagaries. Freeman yet further revolutionized the treatment of history. He pointed out that different races represent various stages of a common evolution. For example, Japan has but recently passed through a stage of evolution that England had gone though a century ago. In other words, there is one great evolution, through which society as a whole is passing.
Some races have gone on to higher stages, others have but reached a medium place yet.
This gave rise to comparative history, and the tracings of the growth of institutions from nation to nation. Up to the middle of the last century there was little or no philosophy of history and what there was, was more or less idealistic. Here we come to the broad dividing line between the position we are attempting to explain, the economic view of society, and the idealist's position. The idealistic position holds that ideas move society. A man may conceive a good thing and then persuade men to adopt it.