To begin, let's answer some questions:
- What is eugenics?As discussed before, eugenics is the science of improving the human population by using controlled breeding to receive the characteristics desired in humans.
- What were the social origins of eugenics?The idea of eugenics was influenced by the social, economical, and political aspects of the 20th century. Culture affects almost every aspect of human life, including science. Science is often used to explain social issues, such as those that led to the theory of eugenics. Since culture is constantly changing, theories that seem absurd in the present were considered reasonable in the eras that they originated in. Eugenics first became popular in a post civil war-period, and the idea came and went several times until the era of Hitler and WWII. During the time between these two wars, America experienced unrest as economic and social issues seemed to multiply in society. These societal issues began to be connected to social Darwinism, or, "the survival of the fittest". This idea then began to evolve, along with the misconstrued outlook on society members. Demographics showed that while the population of the upper, more powerful, wealthier, social class was declining, the population of the working class was increasing and taking control of society. Efforts were made to increase the social standing of the middle class by offering charitable services, however, when this failed, the government implemented progressivism. This was the idea of scientific management in society, where there would be rational control of both nature and human society. After this was explored, a new type of research and scientific theory was formed: eugenics. This was a new type of genetic research and social engineering that would hopefully lead to, and eliminate, the causes of social issues. Researchers began to believe that negative human traits could be traced back to certain genes, and that by eliminating those, society could become perfect. Class struggle wold no longer be an issue; the government would save thousands of dollars by sterilizing one individual. Selective reproduction was the basic concept that could solve all problems. Pictured below are images from the aforementioned website, capturing exactly just what early 20th century America believed about eugenics.
- What were the scientific origins of eugenics? As discussed before, science can be heavily affected by the culture surrounding it. The term "eugenics" can be traced back to 1883 when Francis Galton saw it as an opportunity to encourage the ablest and healthiest members of society to reproduce. Throughout movements in America, Germany, and Scandinavia, eugenics was favored with a negative approach and taken to the extremes. Certain researchers believed that environmental influences damaged heredity, producing degenerates. This lead Harry Clay Sharp, a prison physician, to sterilize inmates and prevent them from reproducing. By the mid 19th century, the negative approach was becoming a very popular idea. While the negative approach was highly favored, some researchers traced legitimate agents to degeneracy, such as lead poisoning. Some believed that good environments could reverse the pattern of degeneracy within three generations. Some scientists, such as William Bateson and Thomas Morgan, discouraged the theory of eugenics altogether. heir research, however, became absorbed into eugenic study, linking it to that of agricultural breeding. Many eugenic researchers, in fact, held an agricultural background. It was believed that if the weaker crop could be altered or eliminated, the same techniques could be applied to the human race. Primitive medical practices were also applied to eugenic research as Cesare Lombroso popularized distinct criminal types that could be linked back to racial hygiene. Researchers believed that the most humane way to control this issue was by forcing criminals and degenerates to be sterilized, ultimately stopping the transfer of irreversibly degenerate germ plasm.
- What research methods were used to study eugenics and what were their flaws? To research eugenics, scientists referenced Mendel's pea experiment, and attempted to apply it to the human pedigree, tracing the three basic modes of inheritance: dominant, recessive, and sex-linked. Eugenic researchers conducted a series of tests on large families, scoring each member for the presence or absence of each trait. Scoring the traits proved to be difficult, as complex traits such as intelligence and musical ability could not be measured by any definitive means. By being unable to accurately test this aspect of their research, they were able to adjust their findings to align with Mendel's work. During this tie, DNA had not fully been revealed and its connections to heredity were still unknown. Due to this, eugenicists were unable to make accurate conclusions regarding trait inheritance, and therefore, had to draw conclusions without viable evidence as support. Every summer, researchers would gather at the Cold Spring Harbor research facility to conduct "field work", asking volunteers about their pedigrees and medical histories. During these studies, some circus performers were studied, showing traits such as giantism and dwarfism. This also revealed the first study on albino traits. Ethnic studies were held in insane asylums, orphanages, homes for the blind, and prisons. Studies were also held on war recruits, and showed that foreign recruits would behave more poorly. This study used test that valued American popular culture as highly as intelligence, practically setting foreigners up for failure on the examinations. During three testimonies, Harry Laughlin presented data showing that Eastern countries were exporting genetic defectives to the US, who had disproportionately high rates of mental issues, criminal behavior, and social dependency. A closer look at Laughlin's argument will yield several examples of how the evidence was skewed and misguided. There were many flaws in eugenic research, such as the difficulty in defining traits, reification, poor survey and statistical methods, false quantification, and social and environmental issues.
- How did eugenics research impact American society? Eugenics highly impacted American society, causing a racist mentality that is still in affect today. American eugenic research influenced Hitler and the Nazi movement, further damaging the societal state of the world. Flawed research led by highly opinionated individuals altered how science interacted with human nature, causing it to become skewed and misinterpreted. It is important to understand the line between true science and the people who abuse it and adapt it to fit their "findings".
All images are from http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/.
