United States Eugenics in the Early 20th Century
Shareen, Sonia, Madelyn, Kate, Paree
Shareen, Sonia, Madelyn, Kate, Paree
Overview.
Narrative.
Essential Historical Questions.
Podcast.
Artifacts & Primary Sources.
Overview
The turn of the 20th century brought forth many turning points in American history, from devastating wars and groundbreaking laws to political marches and Supreme Court decisions. The U.S. fought in World War I, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and World War II, both with and against American support. The passage of the nineteenth amendment gave American women the right to vote. The U.S. entered the Great Depression, and saw President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt to office. Americans all over the country fought for what they believed in, such as the Ku Klux Klan shown marching in Washington below, and the protesters at the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and Greensboro sit-ins fighting against these injustices. All of these events contributed to the growth of the American eugenics movement in the early 20th century.
Narrative
Most people associate the idea of racial improvement with Hitler and Nazi Germany. However in the late 20th century, America also tested the science of genetics by experimenting with eugenics, a movement that focused on weeding out poorer qualities in mankind by wiping away “unfit” humans. These qualities included, but were not limited to, feeblemindedness, pauperism, criminality, promiscuity, and deafness. This movement was carried out with forced sterilizations, segregation laws, and marriage restrictions. These laws were legal in 32 U.S. states at one point in time. At the end of the movement, eugenics practitioners had sterilized about 60,000 Americans, prevented thousands of marriages, and segregated thousands of others. North Carolina was involved with eugenics as well. Over 8,000 sterilizations were approved by the Eugenics Board of North Carolina, and the total number of North Carolinian victims is estimated at about 7,600. North Carolina ranked third in the United States for total number of people sterilized from 1929 to 1973.
The idea of a superior race actually originated in California, well before the Nazi movement was born. The state was the center of the eugenics movement. California became the third state to adopt eugenics laws in 1909. Before World War II occurred, about half of the world’s forced sterilizations were done in California. Even after the war, California made up one third of the forced sterilization surgeries. After World War II, eugenics was declared a crime against humanity, or an act of genocide. When Germans were tried, they tried to use California’s experiments as a defense, but were still found guilty. However, they were not completely wrong. America had helped to fund Germany’s eugenics institutions. By 1926, Rockefeller had donated $410,000 ($4 million today) to hundreds of German researches. That same year, he awarded $250,000 to the German Psychiatric Institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, of which the leading psychiatrist was a man names Ernst Rudin- the same man who would later become the director and architect of Hitler’s systematic medical repression.
The idea of a superior race actually originated in California, well before the Nazi movement was born. The state was the center of the eugenics movement. California became the third state to adopt eugenics laws in 1909. Before World War II occurred, about half of the world’s forced sterilizations were done in California. Even after the war, California made up one third of the forced sterilization surgeries. After World War II, eugenics was declared a crime against humanity, or an act of genocide. When Germans were tried, they tried to use California’s experiments as a defense, but were still found guilty. However, they were not completely wrong. America had helped to fund Germany’s eugenics institutions. By 1926, Rockefeller had donated $410,000 ($4 million today) to hundreds of German researches. That same year, he awarded $250,000 to the German Psychiatric Institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, of which the leading psychiatrist was a man names Ernst Rudin- the same man who would later become the director and architect of Hitler’s systematic medical repression.
Essential Historical Questions
Why did it take so long in North Carolina to get rid of eugenics programs and practices?
- North Carolina took a long time to get rid of their eugenics program because there was an issue with racism and race populations. The state was talking about minimizing the amount of money that goes into general welfare relief, which led to chaos among the whites. Rumors began to circle the state and people began to think that African Americans had a large illegitimate birth count. After people heard about this, the state threatened to cut down on the ADC program and general welfare relief unless sterilizations were put in place to limit the amount of kids African Americans could have. Whites wanted to keep these programs because they helped them, which is why people in North Carolina took so long to get rid of the eugenics program. They did what they wanted to benefit themselves and did not care about treated others humanely.
Why did the eugenics movement continue in the United States after WWII when eugenics was declared a crime against humanity?
- The eugenics movement continued in the United States after WWII, when eugenics was declared a crime against humanity because even after the incident of race purification in Germany, people were still not able to accept social mores. People were still hesitant to accept others because they were brainwashed into thinking some were feebleminded. Conformity was a factor that largely played a role in society back then. People believed in a dominant race. Citizens of the United States were unable to accept that some were different because of their genes, which is why they continued forced sterilizations. They knew that this movement was a crime, so they kept these acts away from the public eye. After WWII racism was something that significantly impacted society. It took a long time to get rid of the eugenics program because of the way people became and how they viewed themselves and their surroundings.
What is the legacy left behind by the eugenics movements of the early 20th century?
- Although not many Americans today know of the eugenics movements, there was still a devastating legacy left behind. Overall, eugenics programs across the U.S. affected about 60,000 Americans. Out of 33 U.S. states, North Carolina and Virginia are the only ones to have initiated restitution efforts, and only seven have issued official apologies. The legacy of eugenics is a forgotten story, but one that could be used to prevent future misuse of genetic technology and sciences. Americans should use the U.S. eugenics movement to embrace the differences in the human race instead of attempting to change humanity.
What is the lasting impact on the victims of eugenics? Why did they choose to target the people that they did?
- The lasting impact on the victims of eugenics was the emotional and physical trauma of forced sterilization. The victims had no voice when it came to sterilization; procedures were often done to them without telling them. They were left to fight for compensation from the state responsible but often received very little if anything. They continue to fight to make sure that nobody else has to endure what they did. The horrific early 20th century eugenics programs first targeted people that were deemed as “feeble-minded” and then people of color. The people deemed as “feeble-minded” were those that didn’t fit into societal norms, like a woman who had children out of wedlock or someone suffering from a mental disorder. The people who were targeted because of their race was an effect of the severe racism existing during the time period that the eugenics programs were being most promoted, right around World War II. Those implementing the eugenics practices wanted to wean out those looked down upon in society because they didn’t want them having children and passing down their unfavorable traits. A lot of the traits that people feared would be passed down were not actually hereditary. For example, a promiscuous woman would not have promiscuous children because of anything based around her genes. Countless women were sterilized due to their promiscuity, and especially younger girls in their teens.
Podcast
Eugenics Podcast | |
File Size: | 7824 kb |
File Type: | mp3 |
Artifacts and Primary Sources
Works Cited
Krisch, Joshua A. "'Haunted Files: The Eugenics Record Office' Recreates a Dark Time in a Laboratory's Past." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Oct. 2014. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/science/haunted-files-the-eugenics-record-office-recreates-a-dark-time-in-a-laboratorys-past.html>.
"Dearborn independent. (Dearborn, Mich.) 1901-1927, December 18, 1920, Page 11, Image 11." News about Chronicling America RSS. Suburban Pub. Co., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/2013218776/1920-12-18/ed-1/seq-11/#date1=1836&index=16&rows=20&words=Eugenics eugenics&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=eugenics&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1>.
"Unfortunate Words." DNALC Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <http://blogs.dnalc.org/2010/01/21/unfortunate-words/>.
"North Carolina." Eugenics in North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <https://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/NC/NC.html>.
Laughlin, Harry. “Buck vs. Bell Supreme Court Decision.” Eugenic Archives: Buck vs. Bell Supreme Court Decision, American Philosophical Society, 1927, www.eugenicsarchive.org/html/eugenics/static/images/260.html.
Richard Conniff ’73, a National Magazine Award winner, is the author, most recently, of The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth. “God and white men at Yale.” Features | Yale Alumni Magazine, yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3456-god-and-white-men-at-yale.
“Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/.
“North Carolina Digital Collections.” Operations under 1929 sterilization law :: Selections from Print Collections Collection, digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll37/id/14919.
“Historical marker on US 401 (McDowell Street) in Raleigh.” NC Markers, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, 17 Apr. 2012, www.ncmarkers.com/marker_photo.aspx?sf=a&id=H-116.
Leonard, Thomas c. “Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era.” Retrospectives, Princeton, www.princeton.edu/~tleonard/papers/retrospectives.pdf .
"Dearborn independent. (Dearborn, Mich.) 1901-1927, December 18, 1920, Page 11, Image 11." News about Chronicling America RSS. Suburban Pub. Co., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/2013218776/1920-12-18/ed-1/seq-11/#date1=1836&index=16&rows=20&words=Eugenics eugenics&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1922&proxtext=eugenics&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1>.
"Unfortunate Words." DNALC Blogs. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <http://blogs.dnalc.org/2010/01/21/unfortunate-words/>.
"North Carolina." Eugenics in North Carolina. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2018. <https://www.uvm.edu/~lkaelber/eugenics/NC/NC.html>.
Laughlin, Harry. “Buck vs. Bell Supreme Court Decision.” Eugenic Archives: Buck vs. Bell Supreme Court Decision, American Philosophical Society, 1927, www.eugenicsarchive.org/html/eugenics/static/images/260.html.
Richard Conniff ’73, a National Magazine Award winner, is the author, most recently, of The Species Seekers: Heroes, Fools, and the Mad Pursuit of Life on Earth. “God and white men at Yale.” Features | Yale Alumni Magazine, yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/3456-god-and-white-men-at-yale.
“Unwanted Sterilization and Eugenics Programs in the United States.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/.
“North Carolina Digital Collections.” Operations under 1929 sterilization law :: Selections from Print Collections Collection, digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll37/id/14919.
“Historical marker on US 401 (McDowell Street) in Raleigh.” NC Markers, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, 17 Apr. 2012, www.ncmarkers.com/marker_photo.aspx?sf=a&id=H-116.
Leonard, Thomas c. “Eugenics and Economics in the Progressive Era.” Retrospectives, Princeton, www.princeton.edu/~tleonard/papers/retrospectives.pdf .