American Eugenics Movement

Today, when looking back at the popularity of eugenics in the 20th century, most people think of Adolf Hitler and the atrocities he committed to improve German society. However, America has a dark history with eugenics that must be acknowledged. Keep reading to learn about the American eugenics movement and its impact on American society.

American Eugenics Movement Timeline

In 1865, Charles Darwin published his famous work, On the Origin of Species, in which he introduced his concept of natural selection. In Darwin's theory, natural selection is the process of evolution. Organisms have multiple offspring, some of which are better adapted to survival. These better-fit offspring go on to reproduce so that, over generations, the population as a whole becomes better adapted.

Fig. 1 - Charles Darwin

While Darwin meant for his theory to be applied solely to animals and plants, others found it applicable to human beings and became supporters of Social Darwinism. Social Darwinists believed some individuals, particularly marginalized groups, were simply unfit for society. Helping these individuals would interfere with the process of evolution; therefore, welfare was unnecessary and potentially even harmful to society.

It was Social Darwinist Sir Francis Galton that first introduced eugenics as a way to better society. Believing the British elite were genetically superior, he encouraged their reproduction and discouraged the reproduction of the "unfit." In the early 1900s, eugenics found popularity outside England, particularly in the United States and Germany.

Fig. 2 - Sir Francis Galton

By the early 1900s, biologist Charles Davenport had become a leader of the American eugenics movement. He was a member of the American Breeders Association (ABA) for eugenics research, and in 1910, he founded the Eugenics Records Office (ERO) to study family pedigrees. One of his prominent supporters was John Harvey Kellogg (yes–the Kellogg you're thinking of), who founded the Race Betterment Foundation (RBF) in 1911. Other well-known supporters of eugenics were Theodore Roosevelt, Alexander Graham Bell, and John D. Rockefeller Jr.

American Eugenics Movement Purpose

The purpose of the American eugenics movement was to prevent the reproduction of those with traits undesirable to white, upper to middle-class Protestants. This designation included criminals, alcoholics, those with disabilities, and those living in poverty. Proponents of eugenics believed that these traits, even a state of impoverishment, were inheritable and that American society would be better if those with these traits did not have children.

American Eugenics Movement Impact

There were multiple ways in which eugenics proponents aimed to prevent reproduction among certain marginalized groups. Let's take a look at the three methods used.

American Eugenics Movement Impact: Forced Sterilization

In America, forced sterilization became a disturbingly common method of preventing reproduction. In 1907, Indiana became the first state to legalize forced sterilization explicitly, and more than half the states soon followed. Many looked to popular eugenicist Harry Laughlin, who created a model sterilization law for legislators.

In 1927, the issue of forced sterilization came before the Supreme Court in Buck v. Bell. A family member, a young woman, Carrie Buck, was staying with raped her. When she came forward, the family had her admitted to a hospital for "feeble-mindedness," a common diagnosis to describe mental illnesses. While in the hospital, she became a victim of forced sterilization. The Supreme Court decided against Carrie Buck, essentially affirming the legality of forced sterilization. Approximately 60,000 Americans shared her fate.

Fig. 3 - Carrie Buck

While few states enforced sterilization laws, California was a stark exception. Adolf Hitler complimented the efforts of California in his book, Mein Kampf. In California and elsewhere, forced sterilization was widespread among women, who were often seen as morally unfit. Doctors also believed that women were more susceptible to "feeble-mindedness."

American Eugenics Movement Impact: Miscegenation Laws

Outside forced sterilization, eugenicists wished to prohibit marriages between those with "desirable" traits and those with "undesirable" traits. A typical application of this was the miscegenation laws found across the United States that prevented marriages between those of different races.

American Eugenics Movement Impact: Birth Control

While the advent of the birth control pill was crucial to the women's movement in giving women the freedom to choose, it has a very dark history tracing back to the American eugenics movement. Margaret Sanger, the developer of the birth control pill, was very open to the potential use of birth control to prevent reproduction among those deemed undesirable.

Fig. 4 - Margaret Sanger

American Eugenics Movement and Race

Many eugenicists believed that there was a propensity for "undesirable" traits among people of color. As a result, people of color faced miscegenation laws and a higher chance of forced sterilization. Following Hitler's application of eugenics in World War II, eugenics began to fall out of favor in the United States. However, rates of forced sterilization remained high in the South, partly as a response to desegregation.

Native American Eugenics Movement

In the 1960s and 70s, the United States government sanctioned the forced sterilization of thousands of Native American women without informed consent. In some cases, doctors even lied that the procedure was reversible. As a result, the birth rate among Native Americans declined dramatically. It also profoundly affected Native American women because of their culture's emphasis on fertility.

The Decline of the American Eugenics Movement

The popularity of eugenics in America peaked during the 1920s and 30s. The Holocaust in Germany during World War II exposed the worst of what eugenics could bring upon society. As a result, the eugenics movement started to lose steam after the war. It was not until the 1960s and 70s that states began to repeal their forced sterilization laws.