As eugenics grew in popularity in the United States leading up to WWII, many officials began pushing for the adoption of laws aimed at regulating the implementation of eugenic principles. In order to limit the number of children born to those deemed genetically unfit, sterilization campaigns emerged. Virginia’s Eugenical Sterilization Act passed in 1924 marked one of the first such policies. After creation of the law, attempts at forced sterilizations began almost immediately. However, opposition to these infringements of individual liberties culminated in the Supreme Court case of Buck v. Bell. The pedigree above was used by the prosecution to argue for the forced sterilization of Carrie Buck by showing the presence of hereditary feeblemindedness. Lawyers argued that Carrie, her mother, and her daughter shared the hereditary traits of feeblemindedness and sexual promiscuity. Ultimately, the Eugenical Sterilization Act was helped up by the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes with the famous majority opinion “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”[1]
[1] University of Virginia Historical Collections. Eugenics: Virginia, Eugenics & Buck v. Bell. 2007. <http://exhibits.hsl.virginia.edu/eugenics/exhibit3-3/>.
In attempts to grow support and societal knowledge of eugenics, many exhibits similar to the one show above began cropping up around the United States. State Fairs became paramount in aiding the spread of eugenical theory and its aims. The exhibit above highlights both the push for adopting negative eugenics, aimed at limiting the procreation of the genetically unfit, and positive eugenics. Furthermore, it encourages people to “learn about heredity” in order to help correct the current conditions contributing to the decline of the human species. As the eugenics movement gained steam in America, many states adopted similar forced sterilization laws. Even following World War II and the realization of the atrocities of Nazi Germany, the United States continued with forced sterilization. From the 1920’s to 1970’s, over 60,000 Americans were forced to undergo sterilization procedures.[2]
[2]Lombardo, Paul. “Eugenic Sterilization Laws.” Social Origins of Eugenics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2016.
Support for eugenics in the United States and Great Britain quickly spread to other countries, including Germany. As the implementation of eugenical principles commenced in the United States, Germany began adopting similar pursuits with the aid of the United States. The creation of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, modeled after the Cold Spring Harbor laboratory, represented this cooperation.[3] However, as support waned for eugenics in the U.S. during the 1930’s, the rise of Hitler brought eugenics to the forefront of the German national program. Hitler employed both inherent European antisemitism and World War II to mask his implementation of euthanasia and racial extermination policies. These euthanasia programs often cited financial reasons as support for the “mercy killing” of the mentally and physically handicap under the Tiergartenstrasse 4 legislation. Furthermore, under the supervision of the Nazi government, the creation of youth leagues and selective breeding practices attempted to foster the creation of a master race.[4]
[3] Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Eugenics in the Third Reich, DNA Learning Center. Accessed 30 Apr. 2016. <http://www.dnai.org/e/>.
[4]Fischer, Bernard A. “Maltreatment of People With Serious Mental Illness in the Early 20th Century: A Focus on Nazi Germany and Eugenics in America.” The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200.12 (2012): 1096-100. Web.
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