Eugenics 1883 - 1940

ORIGINS The word “eugenics” was coined in 1883 by Sir Francis Galton eu meaning good, and genes meaning born

Definition “The science which deals with all influences that improve the inborn qualities of a race; also with those that develop them to the utmost advantage.” - Galton, Eugenics: It’s Definition, Scope and Aims

Ancient History Plato (ca. 427 – 347 B.C.) In The Republic, discusses the need to supply society with genetically improved human beings and how this could be done. Rome and Sparta Infanticide to weed out “weak” babies

Two Types of Eugenics Positive Eugenics - Measures to increase reproduction in families with desirable traits (i.e. encouraging the “fit” to have more children) Negative Eugenics - Measures to limit reproduction in families with undesirable traits (e.g. sterilization via vasectomy and tubal ligation) Negative eugenics was the predominant view

Eugenics was influenced by Origin of Species: Natural Selection “Survival of the fittest” Mendel’s studies on the inheritance of traits Agriculture/Animal Breeding

Unscientific Research Eugenics claimed through science they were able to identify…… Undesirables Pauperism Alcoholism Feeblemindedness Promiscuity Criminality Desirables Emotional stability Strong character Considerateness for other people Intelligence Tendency to uphold or improve moral standards The quality which makes people feel a personal responsibility for the public welfare

20th Century Eugenics The Eugenics Record Office (ERO) 1900 – 1920s, several organizations were formed The Eugenics Record Office (ERO) The American Breeders Association (ABA) The Race Betterment Foundation The American Eugenics Society The Galton Society International Eugenics Congresses of 1912, 1921 and 1932 Attended by the likes of Alexander Graham Bell and Winston Churchill

Teaching Eugenics Courses offered in some of America’s top universities – Harvard, Columbia, Cornell – by 1914 Eugenics was a topic in 376 college courses High school textbooks preached the “unfit” vs. “fit” Fitter Families Contests in 1920s

US Laws supporting Eugenics The Laws Miscegenation laws against mixing races -Virginia’s Racial Integrity Act of 1924, followed by Alabama and Georgia Immigration Laws - Immigration Restriction Act of 1924 - Limits on Eastern and Southern Europeans (based on IQ tests, inmate/asylum studies Sterilization Laws - Indiana was first in 1907 - Model Eugenical Sterilization Law (Laughlin, 1922) defines socially inadequate classes

The case of Buck vs. Bell Carrie Buck US Supreme Court Case First to be sterilized in VA Mother, Emma, was in asylum Gave birth at age 17 out of wedlock Daughter, Vivian, was examined at seven months and deemed feebleminded Charged with feeblemindedness, immorality, prostitution, and untruthfulness Click to read an article on Carrie Buck.

History of Eugenics in US 1902 Carnegie Institute (assign genetic ratings) 1907 IN legalizes forced sterilization 1910 American Breeder’s Assoc. forms Eugenic Records Office 1912 International Eugenics Congress (NY legalizes forced sterilization) 1912 USDA asks ERO to look into “southern negro problem” 1913 Pres. Theodore Roosevelt expresses support for positive eugenics

1924 Immigration Restriction Act, VA Racial Integrity Act 1927 Buck v. Bell 1935 20,000+ state mandated sterilizations 1939 Nazis invaded Poland, ERO closes 1950-60 Several states attempted to pass compulsory sterilization laws for welfare mothers 1965 Birth control legalized 1965- OEO offers family planning (several hundred thousands of sterilizations under Medicaid) 1970 Family Planning Services and Pop. Research Act

1970 Indian Health Service initiates sterilization program, HEW increased funding from $51 million to over $250 million 40% of Native American Women (60,000-70,000), 10% of Native American Men sterilized (Johansen 1998) 1973 Roe v. Wade 1974 Federal guidelines on sterilization 1978 Madrigal v. Quilligan 1979- Federal Sterilization Guidelines 1990- 35 states offer cash incentives for welfare recipients to use Norplant 1992 WI introduces one child cap on AFDC 1996 Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

Supreme Court Ruling: “It is better for the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” 1927, Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

“I’m not saying it [illegitimacy] is only a Black problem “I’m not saying it [illegitimacy] is only a Black problem. It’s just that there seems to be a culture of pregnancy in the Black community, I mean they keep having children generation after generation. Then they collect welfare because they can’t afford to take care of all of them. But nine generations is enough. These women have to learn to control themselves, to make the same effort as everyone else. If they can’t do it, or won’t do it, then something has to be done.” 1992, Former Wisconsin Representative, Susan Vergeront

“If the healthy and intelligent motherhood that is now becoming a hopeful reality in our society were the only factor in the situation to reckon with, all would be well. But to-day, as always in the past, such mothers find themselves surrounded by less healthy, less intelligent, less discriminating mothers. And the children of feeble-minded, the diseased and the mentally dwarfed drag down the standards of schools and society.” 1921, Margaret Sanger

“Individual rights must be balanced against the power of the government to control human reproduction. Some people have viewed the right to have children as a fundamental and inalienable right. Yet neither the Declaration of Independence nor the Constitution mentions the right to reproduce.” John Holdren Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

Slide 14 – Eugenics Legislative Map About 60 000 Americans believed to have been sterilized based on eugenic principles

Eugenics Worldwide Movements were founded in France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and Japan. Eugenic sterilization laws passed in Alberta (1928), Sweden and Norway (1934)

Eugenics around the World 1981-Present China one-child policy, Marriage age requirements, forced sterilization and abortion, seek asylum in the U.S. 2000-Present U.S. funds coercive family planning in Peru

Eugenics around the World Continued 1970-Present Roma women from former Czechoslovakia still have forced sterilization 1909-1979 People with disabilities sterilized to keep the public safe Africa

Nazi Germany Government adopts Laughlin’s Model Eugenical Sterilization Law, and by 1933, sterilize more than 350,000 people Laughlin awarded honorary degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1936 for work in “the science of racial cleansing”

Nazi Germany Hitler’s “Aryan” society Marriage Laws of 1935 prohibiting unions between “Aryans” and Jews and the eugenically unfit ~400,000 sterilized by 1939 The Final Solution -killing of 6 million Jews - 70,000 mental patients - Gypsies, Slavs, and Social Democrats

Flaws of Eugenics Failure to recognize the complexity of human traits Disregard of environmental/social factors Skewed results Linking undesirable traits with racial and ethnic groups Disregard of effects on genetic diversity Flawed IQ testing Deemed a pseudo-science: mainly a social movement

The Fall of Eugenics Mainly due to atrocities committed by Nazis Emerging evidence against Eugenic claims Reginald Punnet Hardy-Weinberg Opposition from the Church

Part Two: Lifting the Curtain on a Shameful Era Click on the link below to bring you to part one of the assignment Eugenics webquest-Om9.doc Part Two: Lifting the Curtain on a Shameful Era Click on the link below to open selected articles from the Winston-Salem Journal. These articles won a several awards for investigative journalism. \\ELKHS2\DATA\pelkeyd\Seminar\Sociology\Eugenics\Lifting the Curtain On a Shameful Era.doc Answer the questions on the following slides after reading the articles. You may type your answers in a Word document. DO NOT print!! Send a copy of your answers to my email address.

Reproductive Racism in the United States 1) Based on this article, how does forced sterilization impact individuals, communities, and/or the world? 2) What did you learn from reading this article, and how does this topic impact you? 3) What does/might the author suggest we do to address the issue of forced sterilization?

Eugenics questions: Should eugenics (in any form) be allowed with regards to humans? What is the difference between eugenics and genetic engineering? How are they both similar? What arguments could you make for Eugenics? How can eugenics be used and to what end? Would it affect the whole populace? Would it be done only to remove things considered unhealthy or would it grow out of control? What are the ultimate effects of eugenics and what can be gained or lost?

Who Cares? Do we care? Should we care? Who is responsible? Should it change?