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1921
Eugenics Tree was used as a logo
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Eugenics Movement Facts: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
about the Eugenics.
What does Eugenics mean?
The term "Eugenics' was coined by
Francis Galton in 1883 from the Greek word 'eugenes'
meaning "well-born, of good stock, of noble
race" and from 'eu' meaning "good"and 'genos'
meaning "birth".
What are Eugenics? Eugenics is the
doctrine of progress in evolution of the
human race and race-culture involving the
investigation of the conditions under which
men of a 'high type' are produced.
When did the Eugenics Movement begin in
America?
The Movement began in America
in 1903. The second International Eugenics
Congress was held in New York in 1921
The 1921
Eugenics Tree Picture
The 'Eugenics Tree' used as a logo by the Eugenics
Record Office. The tree describes how Eugenics were
perceived in the early 1920's headed "Eugenics is the self direction
of Human Evolution". The description of the 'Eugenics Tree' goes on
to state "Like a tree, Eugenics draws it materials from many sources
and organizes them into an harmonious entity". The 'sources' are
shown as the roots of the Eugenics Tree and include anatomy,
biology, physiology, mental testing, anthropology, geology,
archeology, ethnology, law, politics, statistics, genealogy,
sociology, biography, economics, education, religion, psychiatry,
medicine, surgery and genetics. The adherents to the Eugenics
Movement believed that it was an opportunity for people to
control their own evolutionary destiny. Not surprisingly the
movement drew support from some highly influential Americans of all
political persuasions. Eugenicists envisioned a society that
perpetuated white middle and upper class power was optimistic that
scientific changes in human breeding habits would solve many complex
problems facing modern American society.
Negative Eugenics and
Positive Eugenics
Definition:
Negative Eugenics discouraged reproduction by people who have
genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits. Positive Eugenics encouraged
reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable
traits.
Eugenics
Movement Facts for kids: Eugenics Movement in America
The following fact
sheet contains interesting facts and information on the Eugenics
Movement in America.
Facts
about the Eugenics Movement in America for kids
Eugenics
Movement Fact 1: Eugenics was introduced to Europe in
the 1880s by English scientist and biologist Sir
Francis Galton (1822-1911) a cousin of Charles Darwin.
The principles were described in his 1869 book
'Hereditary Genius'. Sir Francis Galton founded the
Eugenics Education Society in 1901 which was based in
the Statistics Department at the University College of
London.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 2: The Galton Society, named after
Eugenicist Sir Francis Galton, was established by a
group of socially prominent and highly influential men
and publicized the movement through the Eugenical News
Eugenics
Movement Fact
3: In 1912 the first International
Eugenics Congress in 1912 was held in London and
presided over by Major Leonard Darwin, the son of
Charles Darwin. Winston Churchill was one of the
prominent people to attend the Congress. and the ideas
spread to America in the early 1900's and the American
Eugenics movement began in 1903.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 4: Definition: Sir Francis Galton defined eugenics
as "the study of all agencies under human control which can improve
or impair the racial quality of future generations". The idea arose
out of the Darwinian theory of evolution and attempted to apply that
theory to mankind.
Eugenics
Movement Fact
5: The ideas spread to America in the
early 1900's and the American Eugenics movement began in
1903. The next facts explain why the movement gained so
much support in the United States.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 6:
A Pseudo-Scientific
form of Racism - Eugenics was a phenomena which
claimed to be scientific, but was not in fact supported by a valid
scientific method, reliable evidence and could not be tested. In
other words it was pseudoscience. Eugenics is a pseudo-science, or
false science, that deals with improving hereditary traits and led
to Pseudo-Scientific form of Racism. The Movement was
fueled by a resurgence of Nativism and xenophobia in America during the 1920's.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 7:
Rise
of Nativism and Immigration in America: The Eugenics Movement gained momentum by
a burst of
Nativism in America
during the 1920's. Nativism refers to the preference for
established US residents, as opposed to foreigners, and
the vehement opposition to immigration. The belief in
Nativism was based on the origin, race, ethnic
background or religion of a person.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 8:
Old
Immigrants vs New Immigrants: Between 1901 -
1920 over 14 million immigrants had arrived in America
and the debate raged over
Old
Immigrants vs New Immigrants. The majority of new
arrivals to America were classified as 'New Immigrants'
from countries such as Italy, Greece, Russia and Poland.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 9: The movement
was 'Legitimized'
by the 1911 Dillingham Commission Report
- The belief in
Nativism and the emergence of the Eugenics Movement was
given credibility by the official
Dillingham
Commission Report that had concluded that the 'New
Immigrants' were "inferior, uneducated and posed a serious threat to
American society".
Eugenics
Movement Fact 10:
The ideals of the movement added to the widespread
attitude that rejected immigrants, xenophobia, the
anti-immigration hysteria of the Red Scare and would
result in new, stringent US laws being passed to
restrict immigration.
Continued...
Facts
about the Eugenics Movement in America for kids
Facts
about the Eugenics for kids
The following fact
sheet continues with facts about the Eugenics Movement in
America.
Facts
about the Eugenics Movement in America for kids
Eugenics
Movement Fact 11: In 1903 Willet M. Hays founded the American
Breeders' Association (ABA), later known as the American Genetic
Association (AGA). The ABA focused on the presumed hereditary
differences between human races an popularized the ideas of
selective breeding of superior stock and the biological threat of
"inferior types".
Eugenics
Movement Fact
12:
The first Eugenics Movement included many of
the most famous scientists, biologists and geneticists
in the country who were based at prominent educational
institutions such as Stanford University, Harvard
University and the University of Chicago.
Eugenics
Movement Fact
13: One of the most prominent eugenicists
in America was Charles Benedict Davenport (1866 – 1944),
a Harvard Ph.D, who went on to found the International
Federation of Eugenics Organizations (IFEO) in 1925
Eugenics
Movement Fact
14: A wide variety of other prominent
people supported the movement including Alexander Graham
Bell, Margaret Sanger, Marie Stopes, H. G. Wells,
Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, George Bernard Shaw,
John Maynard Keynes and John Harvey Kellogg. These
famous people gave huge credibility to the movement.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 15: Critics of the movement included Lester Frank
Ward, G. K. Chesterton, Franz Boas and Halliday Sutherland
Eugenics
Movement Fact 16: In 1906 John Harvey Kellogg provided financial
support for the movement and created the Race Betterment Foundation
located at Battle, Creek Michigan
Eugenics
Movement Fact 17: In 1907, Indiana passed the first
eugenics-based compulsory sterilization law in the
world. Over thirty more U.S. states would soon follow
their lead.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 18: In 1910, the Eugenics Record Office (ERO), headed
by Charles Davenport and Harry Laughlin, Mrs. E. H. Harriman, the
widow of railroad magnate E.H Harriman, provided financial support
for a nationwide publicity campaign that propagandized eugenics.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 19: The second International Eugenics Congress was
held in 1921 at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. The
2nd Eugenics Congress was presided over by Henry Fairfield Osborn
with Alexander Graham Bell as its honorary president.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 20: In 1926 the American Eugenics Society
(AES), financed by the American Museum of Natural
History in New York, was established in America by
Madison Grant, Harry H. Laughlin, Henry Crampton, Irving
Fisher, and Henry F. Osborn to promote eugenic
education programs for the US public with exhibits at
State Fairs. Financial contributions were made by George
Eastman and John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 21: In the 1920's the National Education
Association's Committee on Racial Well-Being sponsored
programs to help college teachers integrate eugenic
content in their courses. Universities such as Harvard,
Brown, Columbia and Cornell were amongst the first to
list courses.
Eugenics
Movement Fact 22: By 1928, eugenic courses were listed
in 376 separate college courses, attended by
approximately 20,000 students.
Eugenics
Movement Fact
23: After WW2 and the Holocaust, the
American eugenics movement was widely condemned. Nazism
made the subject synonymous with racism and genocide. But
sterilization programs continued in many states until
the early970s. Between 1927 and the 1970s, there were
more than 60,000 compulsory sterilizations performed in
33 states in the United States
Facts
about the Eugenics Movement in America for kids
Facts
about
Eugenics: Related Topics
Visitors interested
in Social Darwinism might also be interested in
the following articles:
Black
History for kids: Important People and Events
For visitors interested in African American History
refer to
Black History - People and Events.
A useful resource for
teachers, kids, schools and colleges undertaking
projects for the Black History Month.
Eugenics - President Woodrow Wilson Video
The article on the Eugenics
Movement provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his presidential term in office. The following
Woodrow Wilson video will
give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 28th American President whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
Eugenics Movement in America
●
Interesting Facts about Eugenics for kids and schools
●
Key events
and Eugenics in America for kids
●
The Eugenics Movement, a major
event in US history
●
Reasons, causes, effects, supporters and critics
●
Fast, fun facts about the Eugenics
●
History, ideals, beliefs, reasons, causes, effects,
supporters & critics
● Woodrow Wilson Presidency and
Eugenics for schools,
homework, kids and children |
