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Some questions and discussion points for you and your students...
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Sociologist Helen Fein has defined a "universe of obligation" as the circle of individuals and groups "toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply, and whose injuries call for amends." In the 1930s, how did American eugenicists like Laughlin define their universe of obligation? In their view who belonged? Who did not? How did other Americans to define their universe of obligation? How did the nation as a whole define its universe of obligation?
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In 1936, the University of Heidelberg awarded Harry Laughlin an honorary degree for his work on immigration. Laughlin told the Germans it would "be doubly valued because it will come from a nation which for many centuries nurtured the human seed-stock which later founded my own country and thus gave basic character to our present lives and institutions." What connection does he see between Germany and the United States? Who is part of that connection? Who is excluded?
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What are the "seeds of danger" in American democracy, according to Wallace? How might Davenport respond to Wallace's vision of democracy?
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