Cameron Miranda
The first US state to pass a compulsory sterilisation law was Indiana in 1907. The law made sterilisation mandatory for criminals, idiots, rapists, and imbeciles in state custody. This came after a failed attempt by Michigan in 1897 to introduce a compulsory sterilisation bill. By the 1970s, involuntary sterilisation laws had been passed in 30 states, disproportionately targeting Latinxs, Native Americans, African Americans, poor whites, and people with disabilities. The eugenics movement, which gained popularity in the early 20th century, was based on the scientifically inaccurate belief that selective breeding of populations could improve humans.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1883 |
| Coined by | Francis Galton |
| Definition | "the study of all agencies under human control which can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations" |
| First state to introduce a compulsory sterilization bill | Michigan, 1897 |
| First state to pass a compulsory sterilization law | Indiana |
| First eugenics law | Passed in Indiana in 1907 |
| First Panamerican Conference on Eugenics and Homoculture | Cuba |
| First major challenge to conventional eugenics | Thomas Hunt Morgan, 1915 |
| Honorary vice president of the British Eugenics Society | Winston Churchill |
| First birth control pill | Commissioned by Margaret Sanger |
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What You'll Learn
Indiana's 1907 eugenics law
The law was approved on March 9, 1907, following a marriage law approved in 1905 that prohibited marriage licenses for "imbeciles, epileptics, and those of unsound minds." The 1907 law was the culmination of efforts by Dr. Harry C. Sharp and Superintendent W. H. Whittaker of the Indiana State Reformatory, who lobbied for a sterilization bill.
The impact of the law was significant, with approximately 2,500 people in state custody sterilized. However, it faced opposition, and in 1909, Governor Thomas Riley Marshall halted sterilizations. The law was ultimately ruled unconstitutional by the Indiana Supreme Court in 1921, citing a denial of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite this, a revised sterilization law was implemented in 1927, which included provisions for court appeals. This law was expanded in 1931 and remained in place until its repeal in 1974.
The centenary of the 1907 Indiana eugenics law in 2007 prompted a series of scholarly projects, including a book, formal apologies from the state legislature, award-winning articles, and public exhibitions exploring the history and implications of eugenics in the state.
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The first academic discipline
The term "eugenics" was coined in 1883 by Francis Galton, an English statistician, demographer, and ethnologist, as well as the cousin of Charles Darwin. Galton defined eugenics as "the study of all agencies under human control which can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations". He was the first to apply Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection to human relations, believing that desirable human qualities were hereditary. However, Darwin strongly disagreed with this interpretation of his theory.
Despite its controversial nature, eugenics became an academic discipline in many colleges and universities, receiving funding and support from various sources. Organisations such as the British Eugenics Education Society (founded in 1907) and the American Eugenics Society (founded in 1921) sought to win public support and sway opinion towards responsible eugenic values in parenthood. Eugenics also gained support from leading British politicians, including Winston Churchill, who was an honorary vice president of the British Eugenics Society.
The development of theories in biology and heredity, as well as the events of World War I, led to a renewed interest in eugenics as a means to improve society. By the late 1800s, state officials and authorities in Indiana and other states became convinced that social problems such as crime, poverty, and pauperism were genetically inherited. This belief led to the enactment of various laws, including sterilisation laws, aimed at reducing reproduction by those considered "feeble-minded" or "degenerate".
In 1907, Indiana became the first state to adopt a compulsory sterilisation law, with Governor J. Frank Hanly approving the first state eugenics law mandating sterilisation for certain individuals in state custody. Similar laws were later passed in other states, such as Virginia, which passed the Eugenical Sterilization Act in 1924, allowing for the forced sterilisation of those deemed "intellectually disabled". These laws disproportionately targeted marginalised communities, including Latinxs, Native Americans, African Americans, and people with disabilities.
While eugenics was abandoned by many after World War II due to its association with Nazi Germany, its impact continued to be felt, with modern-day manifestations of eugenic beliefs still existing in policies and practices, particularly affecting vulnerable populations.
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International Federation of Eugenics Organizations
The International Federation of Eugenics Organizations (IFEO) was an international organization of groups and individuals focused on eugenics. Founded in London in 1912, it was originally titled the Permanent International Eugenics Committee. It was an outgrowth of the first International Eugenics Congress, which was presided over by Leonard Darwin. In 1925, it was renamed the IFEO.
The IFEO's emphasis on negative eugenics, which involves eliminating "unfit" individuals from society through measures such as forced sterilization and laws against reproduction, led to the formation of a splinter group in 1933. This group, called the Latin International Federation of Eugenics Organizations, was established by Italian sociologist Corrado Gini to provide a platform for organizations that opposed the negative eugenics approach.
American eugenicist Charles Davenport was a dominant figure in the early history of the IFEO. As its president, he wrote a letter to Benito Mussolini urging him to implement a eugenics program in Italy. Davenport was succeeded as president by German psychiatrist Ernst Rüdin, a prominent Swiss eugenicist and race scientist.
The IFEO worked through various sub-committees, including those focused on human heredity and race crossing. By the 1930s, the organization was meeting every two years, with simultaneous conferences held in various countries. The IFEO's activities declined due to increasing tension caused by the views of the Nazi Party in Germany, and it eventually dissolved in the latter half of the 1930s.
Eugenics, as a field, sought to improve society by applying Darwinist theory to human relations, believing that desirable human qualities were hereditary. It gained support from various organizations and prominent individuals, including politicians and clergymen. However, by the end of World War II, many eugenics laws were abandoned due to their association with Nazi Germany and the revelation of human rights violations.
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Immigration Restriction League
The Immigration Restriction League (founded in 1894) was the first American entity to be officially associated with eugenics. The League's founding was driven by increasing immigration from Southern and Eastern European countries, which, alongside a series of economic downturns, fuelled nativist fears. The League was founded in Boston by influential figures, including three Harvard alumni: lawyer Charles Warren, climatologist Robert DeCourcy Ward, and attorney Prescott F. Hall. Boston Brahmins such as Henry Cabot Lodge were also among the founders. The League soon had branches in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. It attracted hundreds of prominent scholars, philanthropists, and other establishment figures, mostly from the New England social and academic elite.
The League sought to bar what it considered dysgenic members of certain races from entering America and diluting what it saw as the superior American racial stock through procreation. They believed that Anglo-Saxon traditions, peoples, and culture were being drowned in a flood of racially inferior foreigners from Southern and Eastern Europe. The League argued that the American way of life was threatened by immigration from these regions and lobbied Washington to pass anti-immigration legislation to restrict the entry of what they perceived as "undesirable" immigrants. They aimed to uphold the hegemony of "Old Stock Americans".
The League used books, pamphlets, meetings, and numerous newspaper and journal articles to promote their campaign of anti-immigration and eugenics. They also employed lobbyists in Washington after 1900 and built a broad anti-immigrant coalition consisting of patriotic societies, farmers' associations, Southern and New England legislators, and eugenicists who supported their goals. The League was active in lobbying for the passage of what became the Immigration Act of 1917, which aimed to reduce the number of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe while increasing immigration from Northern and Western Europe. This was achieved by increasing the duty paid by alien passengers to enter the United States from two to five dollars, excluding citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba.
The League introduced a bill in Congress in 1918 to further restrict immigration through numerical limitations. They also advocated for a literacy test for immigrants, based on the belief that literacy rates were low among "inferior races". Despite three vetoes by President Woodrow Wilson, a literacy test bill was passed by Congress in 1917. The League disbanded after Hall's death in 1921, but its legacy continued to influence racial attitudes in the United States, as seen through the existence of a Princeton chapter of the IRL from 1922 to 1924.
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Post-WWII eugenics laws
The eugenics movement, which was at its peak in the early 1900s, lost most of its influence after World War II due to its association with the Nazis and the Holocaust. However, the movement did not simply disappear overnight. Instead, it adapted its messaging and targets while retaining many of its original methods.
In the post-WWII era, eugenics advocates faced the challenge of declining popularity and had to modify their arguments to gain support. While the negative eugenics practice of sterilization declined, new methods of positive eugenics were developed and used. Sterilizations in the 1950s and 1960s became less visible, with some institutions performing sterilizations without keeping any records. It was not until the 1970s that many states outlawed involuntary sterilization, and even in 1985, 19 states still had laws allowing the practice.
The scientific community played a crucial role in debunking eugenic myths and combating modern-day manifestations of eugenics. Thomas Hunt Morgan, a professor of medical humanities, challenged conventional eugenics based on genetic inheritance in 1915. He demonstrated that genetic mutations could occur outside of inheritance, refuting the idea that traits like intelligence or criminality were hereditary.
Despite the decline in popularity, some eugenics advocates retained their influence. For example, Margaret Sanger, head of the American Birth Control League, supported increased access to birth control to decrease the birth rates of immigrants and the poor. Additionally, eugenicists were crucial in enacting discriminatory immigration legislation, such as the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, which excluded immigrants from Asia.
In conclusion, while the eugenics movement lost momentum after WWII, it survived by adapting its strategies and retaining support from certain influential individuals and organizations. Sterilization laws and involuntary sterilizations continued well into the 1970s and beyond, and the scientific community worked to debunk the pseudoscientific foundations of eugenics. The legacy of eugenics continued to shape policies and beliefs, with ongoing efforts to combat its harmful manifestations in the present day.
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Frequently asked questions
Indiana Governor J. Frank Hanly approved the first state eugenics law in 1907, making sterilization mandatory for criminals, idiots, rapists, and imbeciles in state custody.
The first state eugenics law was passed in Indiana in 1907, making sterilization mandatory for certain individuals in state custody.
The first proposed law on eugenics was a compulsory sterilization bill introduced in Michigan in 1897. The bill called for the mandatory castration of certain criminals and "degenerates" but failed to pass in the legislature.
The International Federation of Eugenics Organizations was the first international eugenics group, with members from the United States, Hungary, France, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, and Czechoslovakia.
The Immigration Restriction League, founded in 1894, was the first American entity officially associated with eugenics. The League sought to bar the entry of certain races into America and lobbied for a literacy test for immigrants based on racist beliefs.
