Pine Mountain Middle School

Pine Mountain Middle School

(Your School Name Here)

What was the Impact of Eugenics Movement?

(Title/Question Here)

Ima Student

(Your Name Here)

8th Grade

(Your Grade Level)

History

(*Optional – Subject area you chose)

Mrs. Yesner

(Your Teacher’s Name Here)

Verification Page

"I verify that this paper, typed by ______, is exactly as I prepared it.”

______

Student's Signature

[You Only Need This Page If You Have Someone Else Typing Your Paper]

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of eugenics in the United States and Europe during the early 1900s.

I became interested in this idea when I read about the Holocaust. I had not heard of the eugenics movementand…. {explain why you chose it, any connections you have, etc.} then…

The information gained from this paper should serve to remind people of the dangers of judging the qualities of other human beings. [explain why it is important to study this subject]. Therefore, I wanted to research and find out more information on the impact that the eugenics movement had on the United States and Europe during the early 1900s.

{Explain how you got your research. Think of it like writing a timeline to show how you researched your paper.]

Methodology Statement

I beganby researching an overview of eugenics (What was it? What was its purpose?). I read Eugenics: Its Definition, Scope, and Aimsby Francis Galton to get an overview of what eugenics entailed during the early 1900s. I found this in the American Journal of Sociology. Francis Galton is credited with being one of the key persons who started the movement. I researched articles in online encyclopedias as well.

After reading an overview of the movement, I decided to find articles that would show the impact it had on society. I watched a video on eugenics and read an article on Nazi Eugenics that discussed some actions taken because of the movement.

Finally, I used several articles to research the ethics of eugenics, finding out the positive and negative consequences. After completing my research, I decided to have my fellow students take a survey to answer the following question: Can eugenics be applied ethically? Yes or No.

[This is your research and your findings. It is in two parts. Theintroductory paragraph: 1. Clearly state the general theme; 2. Give the basic ideas that will be developed, and the Research Findings: 1. Present information in an orderly, sequential, and convincing manner; 2. Include adequate and properly balanced information]

Introduction

Eugenicsis a set of beliefs and practices that aims at improving thegeneticquality of ahuman population. The concept, however, predates this coinage, withPlatosuggesting applying the principles ofselective breedingto humans around 400BCE (Galton).

While eugenic principles have been practiced as far back in world history asancient Greece, the modernhistory of eugenicsbegan in the early 20th century when a popular eugenics movement emerged in theUnited Kingdomand spread to many countries including theUnited States,Canadaand mostEuropeancountries. In this period, eugenic ideas were espoused across the political spectrum. Consequently, many countries adopted eugenic policies with the intent to improve the quality of their populations' genetic stock(Bashford, 327).With the aim of improvement in mind, was the eugenics movement a positive force in society, or were there negative consequences to the movement? What was the impact of the eugenics movement in the early 1900s?

Research/Findings

American eugenics was divided into two major camps: negative and positive eugenics. Whereas Galton was predominantly a proponent of positive eugenics (which expected the healthiest and most successful individuals of a race to propagate good traits), the American scientific community aligned itself more closely with negative eugenics. Due to the classless nature of the American society, American negative eugenics were “non-elitist (and) democratic” in operation and encouraged occasional purges of the weakest members of society (Carlson 2001, p. 234)….(Be balanced here and make sure you are not plagerizing and citing your research. Also, you are answering a question or supporting a thesis. So, please make sure you are staying on topic and answering the question you are researching. The introduction and research sections should be two to three pages.)

Conclusion Page

The question of the impact of eugenics cannot be answered with one backwards glance in history. In light of the diversity in both interpretation and understanding inherent to the tracking of the development of a scientific theory, the factual evidence must be considered. By 1914, the notion of eugenics had evolved into a much more complex scientific discipline well beyond Galton’s original intentions.

In his work, Hereditary Genius, Galton’s views on race were the first cautious attempts of a nineteenth century man to understand the occasionally disadvantageous realities of biological diversity—his motive was to prevent, not to inflict, suffering (Blacker 1952). The seed of eugenic thought which Galton planted in 1883 could not have matured into the burgeoning, global movement of 1914 without the fertile soil of American laboratories, universities, and court rooms, nor without the systematic cultivation of German racial hygienists and the centralized political organism of the German state.

The real issue with eugenics is the obvious question: Who decides which genes are inferior? Eugenics starts with the assumption that some genes are superior to others, i.e. that Jewish genes are unhealthy and inferior to Caucasian genes. For this reason, the research shows that eugenics had a very negative impact to Europe and the United States.

Works Cited

Bashford, Alison; Levine, Philippa (2010-08-03).The Oxford Handbook of the History of Eugenics.Oxford University Press. p.327.

Black, E. 2003.War against the weak: Eugenics and America’s campaign to create a master race. New York, New York: Four Walls Eight Windows.

Blacker, C. P. 1952.Eugenics: Galton and after. London, United Kingdom: Duckworth.

Brown, P. 2001. Genetics and mankind: From the past into the future.The Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies26, no. 1:345–370.

Carlson, E. A. 2001.The unfit: A history of a bad idea. Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Galton, Francis. “Eugenics: Its Definition, Scope, and Aims.” American Journal of Sociology,

vol. 10, no. 1, July 1904, pp. 1–25.

Laughlin, H. H. 1914. Calculations on the working out of a proposed program of sterilization.

InProceedings of the national conference on race betterment, ed. E. F. Robbins, pp. 478–

494. Battle Creek, Michigan: Race Betterment Foundation.

Weiss, S. F. 1987. The race hygiene movement in Germany. Osiris 2nd series 3:193–236.