Eugenics was a widespread social movement beginning in England the late 19th century and becoming a global movement by the 1920s and 1930s, although the form of eugenics varied from country to country. In general, eugenics arose from a growing social anxiety- fueled by immigration, urbanization and industrialization, and even such phenomena as the declining birth rates (accompanying declines in death rates) among certain classes in many countries. This anxiety found expression in the terms first uttered in the nascent science of heredity using terms introduced by Charles Darwin to describe processes of evolution, particularly the concept that those best suited for survival in a specific and particular environment would survive to pass on their traits to their offspring. Their ability to survive and reproduce represented their "fitness." From this understanding grew the term, "Survival of the Fittest, used primarily in the context of what came to known as Social Darwinism. Around the time when ideas of fitness and concern were being shaped into the diverse body of practice known as "Eugenics," Gregor Mendel's work with heredity in pea plants came to the fore, and the basic model, that traits are determined by a single locus with two alleles- one dominant and one recessive was thought to apply to all traits- including alcoholism, criminality, pauperism, laziness, and other complex behaviors whose heritability is now known to be complex, if indeed they have a pattern of genetic inheritance at all. In any case eugenicists built a movement that they felt was scientific based on their understanding of the language of Social Darwinism and Mendelian genetics.
So eugenics used the language of Darwin or Social Darwinism, coupled with Mendel's discoveries to apply to societies they felt were in trouble- and they used metaphors of a society diseased and over run with what they called "the unfit." They felt that Social Darwinism wasn't working and eugenicists moved to develop programs to promote the fit and eliminate the unfit. How they did that and the programs developed differed from country to country based on religion, science, social structure, social ideology... and the programs reflected existing fears and ideas about social worth, and beauty- and fears- of those primarily in leadership positions.
Studying eugenics provides valuable insight into the way in which science- generally considered to be objective- can be used to justify societies fears.
Agatha Christie- The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
Agatha Christie- Curtain (1940)
T.S. Eliot- The Wasteland, (1922)
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA: E.S Gosney Papers and Records of the Human Betterment Foundation. Links to the Online Archives of California, although the collections are housed in the CIT Archives and there are several listings in that Archives.
Eugenics Records Office in Cold Spring Harbor, NY. Many records from the ERO are digitized and in the Archives. Some physical collections remain on site.
NC State Archives includes collection of Governor's papers that include material on Eugenics.
State University of New York, University at Albany, M.E. Grenander Special Collection and Archives: Arthur H. Estabrook Papers, 1908-1962 Estabrook- (1885-1973) American researcher and Eugenicist who worked for the Carnegie foundation and Eugenics Record Office starting in 1910, was a special investigator for the Indiana State Commission on Mental Defectives, testified for the first trial representing the sterilization of Carrie Buck and again for the Buck vs Bell supreme court trial, and worked at Carnegie in the ERO until 1929.
University of Minnesota Social Welfare History Archives, Minneapolis, MN: Association for Voluntary Sterilization (AVS) Papers, including minutes, correspondence, memoranda, financial records, newspaper clippings and other materials examining sterilizations in state institutions
University of Virginia (Charlottesville) Archives: Aubrey Strode (1873-1946)was a lawyer practicing in Lynchburg, VA who argued for Jim Crow laws, wrote the Virginia Sterilization Act of 1924, and argued the Buck vs Bell Case before the Supreme Court.
Wellcome Library, London, UK: Eugenics Society contains materials from the British Eugenics society, which was founded in 1908, and includes Annual Reports as well as correspondence, educational materials, and a range of other materials documenting eugenics in the United Kingdom.
19th century, primarily American social theory. Races had different origins- used to develop hierarchy of human races, argument for continuation of slavery. 19th century natural historians such as Samuel George Morton, Louis Agassiz, George Gliddon, Josiah Nott.
Note: the main Eugenics Digital collection contains numerous images
Limited relevant images may be found in the Images from the History of Medicine Collection of the National Library of Medicine
Camalt, William H. (1909) Heredity and Crime, a Study in Eugenics. William H. Carmalt ... Read at the 117th Annual Convention of the
Connecticut State Medical Society, Hartford, May 26, 27, 1909
Dawson, George E. (1912) The Right of the Child to be Well Born. New York, London, Funk & Wagnalls company
Ford, James. (1923) Social problems and social policy : principles underlying treatment and prevention of poverty, defectiveness, and
criminality. Boston, Ginn & Co.
Guyer, Michael F. (1916) Being Well Born: An Introduction to Eugenics. Available through Project Gutenberg.
North Carolina program to compensate individuals who were forcibly sterilized- NC Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.
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