science

War Against the Weak

War Against the Weak is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand War Against the Weak rather than just read about it. In short: War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race is a 2003 book by historian and journalist Edwin Black. Overall, War Against the Weak shows how the eugenics movement was supported and promoted by a wide range of individuals, organizations, and corporations in the United States, and how this led to the forced sterilization and persecution of millions of people.

Key takeaways

War Against the Weak belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect War Against the Weak to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of War Against the Weak from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race is a 2003 book by historian and journalist Edwin Black. Overall, War Against the Weak shows how the eugenics movement was supported and promoted by a wide range of individuals, organizations, and corporations in the United States, and how this led to the forced sterilization and persecution of millions of people. According to professor Jack Fischel, "It is apparent from Black’s research that American eugenicists contributed to Nazi racial hygiene policy."

Synopsis A non-fiction book that explores the eugenics movement in the United States and how it led to the forced sterilization and genocide of millions of people, primarily those deemed "unfit" by the movement's proponents. The book traces the history of eugenics from its origins in the late 19th century, through its rise in popularity in the early 20th century, and its eventual decline after World War II. Black examines the role of prominent eugenicists such as Charles Davenport, Harry Laughlin, Madison Grant, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Alexander Graham Bell, E.S. Gosney, Clarence Gamble, Irving Fisher, Margaret Sanger, Willet Hays and Alexis Carrel and how their beliefs were embraced by the government, academia, and the scientific community. He details how eugenics led to the forced sterilization of thousands of Americans, many of whom were poor, mentally ill, or people of color. The book also delves into the links between American eugenics and the Nazi regime in Germany, where eugenics was taken to its ultimate and horrific conclusion with the Holocaust. Black reveals how American eugenicists provided inspiration and support to the Nazi regime, and how the Holocaust was in many ways the fulfillment of the eugenicist dream.

See also Eugenics in the United States

References

Further reading Academic journal reviews

Harman, Oren (2007). "Review Essay: On the Power of Ideas". Minerva. 45 (2): 175–189. doi:10.1007/s11024-007-9029-z. JSTOR 41821400. S2CID 142993003. Hodgson, Dennis (2004). "American Eugenicists on Trial: A Review Essay". Population and Development Review. 30 (2): 343–351. JSTOR 3401390. King, Lucy Jane (2005). "Reviewed work: War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, Edwin Black". Indiana Magazine of History. 101 (1): 90–92. JSTOR 27792611. Lelliott, Joff (2004). "Reviewed work: War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, Edwin Black". BMJ: British Medical Journal. 328 (7436): 411. doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7436.411-a. JSTOR 41710160. PMC 341445. S2CID 70785197. Mehler, Barry (2004). "Reviewed work: War against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, EdwinBlack". The Journal of American History. 91 (2): 671. doi:10.2307/3660797. JSTOR 3660797. Olshansky, S Jay (2004). "Human by DesignA review of War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race. By Edwin Black". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 79 (2): 181–187. doi:10.1086/386568. S2CID 83668091. Pauly, Philip J. (2004). "Reviewed work: War against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race, Edwin Black". Journal of the History of Biology. 37 (1): 181–184. JSTOR 4331856. Rosenberg M. WELL-BORN? New Formations. 2007;(60):162-165. EBSCO

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with War Against the Weak

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what War Against the Weak claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to War Against the Weak before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about War Against the Weak ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of War Against the Weak

In research: War Against the Weak appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses War Against the Weak in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: War Against the Weak is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2003 non-fiction books, Eugenics books, History of eugenics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for War Against the Weak outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study War Against the Weak in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what War Against the Weak means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain War Against the Weak out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is War Against the Weak in simple terms?

Why does War Against the Weak matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study War Against the Weak?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on War Against the Weak.