The American Eugenics Movement
by Bonnie P.
A common theme found throughout various aspects of life in the 1890s is the betterment of human life. Many times this effort was successful. Such is the case with the advancement of leisurely activities during the decade or those immigrants lucky enough to encounter Jane Addam's Hull House. However, some efforts to improve the quality of life were, perhaps, a mistake in retrospect. The American Eugenics movement was one of these misdirected efforts.
While still in very early development, the movement had its roots in the 1890s. The intentions of those involved were to better the life of generations to come by inhibiting weaker human qualities from being passed down. As an extension on Charles Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, scientists aimed to eliminate elements in the gene pool that were not seen as fit.
Dubbed Eugenics by Francis Galton, an English scientist, the movement began in the 1880s, and picked up momentum when combined with the reemergence of the scientific study of genetics after the turn of the century (USHMM). While mostly conceived on European soil, the Eugenics movement also had support in the United States. In fact, some of the advocates of the movement were the progressive former President Woodrow Wilson, women's leader Margaret Sanger and Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Supreme Court Justice (Black).
Once in America, the movement took hold. Plans were implemented to control the
superiority of the human race "by identifying the so-called 'defective' family trees and subjecting them to legislated segregation and sterilization programs." The groups targeted most often were those opposite of the "superior" light haired, fair skinned, Nordic race. African Americans, Eastern Europeans, Jews and the disabled were often investigated for their genetic contributions against the white human race (Black). If found under the scrutiny of an American raceologist, one might expect a thorough examination of oneâ•˙s extended family. Exact percentages and measurements of ethnicity and disability among relatives were recorded and weighted for threat to the rest of society. If deemed too much of a threat, sterilization was soon to follow. This eliminated the chance of poor genes to be passed on in the gene pool.
Considered cruel and unusual today, proponents of the American Eugenics movement saw these means as a solution to many of societies problems beyond a faulty gene pool. "Eugenics offered biological solutions to social problems common to societies experiencing urbanization and industrialization" (USHMM). Many thought is would insure "a future free of poverty, addiction and crime" (Sinderbrand). In addition, the need for "costly welfare programs" would lessen with a decreasing presence of hereditary medical problems (USHMM). These hereditary defects were becoming especially problematic as the rates of them increased. The increase was actually attributed to the fact that most educated (and therefore genetically stable) individuals were waiting longer to have children and as a result, had smaller families. In the end, less healthy births changes the ratio of acceptably healthy individuals to disabled individuals (USHMM).
Although research was being conducted in several areas of the world, the United States brought a uniquely American twist to the Eugenics equation: capitalism. Many people may be surprised to find that much of the research executed in America was funded by big business. "The main culprits were the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune" (Black). The Rockefeller Foundation even helped to finance the racial scientists of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany (Black). This is an interesting subject because, in essence, all consuming Americans, including those who would ultimately suffer from the repercussions of the research, were paying for the American Eugenics program.
But the repercussions of the movement extend far beyond the 60,000 sterilized Americans (Sinderbrand). By the time of World War I, the philosophies of Eugenics had reached the hands of the Nazi regime. "Under the Nazis, American eugenic principles were applied without restraint, careening out of control into the Reich's infamous genocide. Nazi eugenics turned from mass sterilization and euthanasia to genocidal murder" (Black).
Today, the United States is still paying for its Eugenics science experiment. Although many states will not admit to the involuntary sterilization of immigrants and the disabled, some states are taking responsibility, including North Carolina and Virginia. Because sterilizations took place into the 1970s, both states offer health care options for Eugenics movement survivors (Sinderbrand).
Images:
Eugenics Archive
Deadly Medicine Exhibition
Works Cited:
Black, Edwin. "War Against the Weak."
accessed 17 May 2006.
Sinderbrand, Rebecca. "Eugenics in America." Newsweek Magazine Online. accessed 15 May 2006.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Deadly Medicine." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Web site. accessed 15 May 2006.
A common theme found throughout various aspects of life in the 1890s is the betterment of human life. Many times this effort was successful. Such is the case with the advancement of leisurely activities during the decade or those immigrants lucky enough to encounter Jane Addam's Hull House. However, some efforts to improve the quality of life were, perhaps, a mistake in retrospect. The American Eugenics movement was one of these misdirected efforts.
While still in very early development, the movement had its roots in the 1890s. The intentions of those involved were to better the life of generations to come by inhibiting weaker human qualities from being passed down. As an extension on Charles Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest, scientists aimed to eliminate elements in the gene pool that were not seen as fit.
Dubbed Eugenics by Francis Galton, an English scientist, the movement began in the 1880s, and picked up momentum when combined with the reemergence of the scientific study of genetics after the turn of the century (USHMM). While mostly conceived on European soil, the Eugenics movement also had support in the United States. In fact, some of the advocates of the movement were the progressive former President Woodrow Wilson, women's leader Margaret Sanger and Oliver Wendell Holmes, the Supreme Court Justice (Black).
Once in America, the movement took hold. Plans were implemented to control the
superiority of the human race "by identifying the so-called 'defective' family trees and subjecting them to legislated segregation and sterilization programs." The groups targeted most often were those opposite of the "superior" light haired, fair skinned, Nordic race. African Americans, Eastern Europeans, Jews and the disabled were often investigated for their genetic contributions against the white human race (Black). If found under the scrutiny of an American raceologist, one might expect a thorough examination of oneâ•˙s extended family. Exact percentages and measurements of ethnicity and disability among relatives were recorded and weighted for threat to the rest of society. If deemed too much of a threat, sterilization was soon to follow. This eliminated the chance of poor genes to be passed on in the gene pool.
Considered cruel and unusual today, proponents of the American Eugenics movement saw these means as a solution to many of societies problems beyond a faulty gene pool. "Eugenics offered biological solutions to social problems common to societies experiencing urbanization and industrialization" (USHMM). Many thought is would insure "a future free of poverty, addiction and crime" (Sinderbrand). In addition, the need for "costly welfare programs" would lessen with a decreasing presence of hereditary medical problems (USHMM). These hereditary defects were becoming especially problematic as the rates of them increased. The increase was actually attributed to the fact that most educated (and therefore genetically stable) individuals were waiting longer to have children and as a result, had smaller families. In the end, less healthy births changes the ratio of acceptably healthy individuals to disabled individuals (USHMM).
Although research was being conducted in several areas of the world, the United States brought a uniquely American twist to the Eugenics equation: capitalism. Many people may be surprised to find that much of the research executed in America was funded by big business. "The main culprits were the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune" (Black). The Rockefeller Foundation even helped to finance the racial scientists of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Germany (Black). This is an interesting subject because, in essence, all consuming Americans, including those who would ultimately suffer from the repercussions of the research, were paying for the American Eugenics program.
But the repercussions of the movement extend far beyond the 60,000 sterilized Americans (Sinderbrand). By the time of World War I, the philosophies of Eugenics had reached the hands of the Nazi regime. "Under the Nazis, American eugenic principles were applied without restraint, careening out of control into the Reich's infamous genocide. Nazi eugenics turned from mass sterilization and euthanasia to genocidal murder" (Black).
Today, the United States is still paying for its Eugenics science experiment. Although many states will not admit to the involuntary sterilization of immigrants and the disabled, some states are taking responsibility, including North Carolina and Virginia. Because sterilizations took place into the 1970s, both states offer health care options for Eugenics movement survivors (Sinderbrand).
Images:
Eugenics Archive
Deadly Medicine Exhibition
Works Cited:
Black, Edwin. "War Against the Weak."
accessed 17 May 2006.
Sinderbrand, Rebecca. "Eugenics in America." Newsweek Magazine Online. accessed 15 May 2006.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, "Deadly Medicine." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Web site. accessed 15 May 2006.
posted by Leslie Madsen-Brooks at 10:27 PM
2 Comments:
Very interesting post. I was alarmed by how many people were sterilized. I wonder, why did people allow themselves to be sterlized? Did they believe in the Eugenics movement, or were there negative consequences for those who resisted?
From the interviews I watched at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, most people were sterilized while they were still very young. They had no idea really that something was wrong until they tried to conceived later in life. I think most parents of these children thought that the operations would help their children (as most of them were handicapped).
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