In the twentieth-century politics has played a vital role in the way disease is perceived by the average person. Every aspect of disease became a political concern with eugenics publically taking on a major role in public policy. Giving credit to eugenics, many Americans began to worry more about their personal genetic traits as well as the traits that they may pass on to their children. Later society became interested with eugenics on a more community-oriented basis. “The downfall of Eugenics came when reformers began to use it as a program of social control, promoting government intervention and coercion in human reproduction.”
Masturbation was once seen as degenerative disease that led to widespread application of the eugenic principles. Masturbation (known then as Onanism) was even introduced to medical students in the early 20th century as a possible cause of degeneracy. “Social, religious, and cultural fears and taboos, portrayed as medical “opinion,” said that masturbation was bad for the human body and psyche, not to mention sinful.” Doctors began to develop many methods of sterilization during this time and these methods were used to stop these degenerates from reproducing. Henry Clay Sharp did his experimentation in an Indiana prison-sterilizing people he termed as “chronic masturbators.” Sharp truly believed that he was making the world a better place and he wanted to take it to the next level.
The next step was to take his sterilization crusade to the Indiana State legislature to increase the scope of his practice to legally force upon other degenerates sterilization. Up until this time, Sharp had been operating without the law on his side. Sharp, in 1902, wrote, “I therefore suggest that you endeavor to s...
... middle of paper ...
...ieth century, Governments used eugenics as a tool with which they promoted propaganda and personal bias as scientific fact. Eugenics began innocently promoting healthier living by breeding wanted genetic traits together, but it quickly took a downfall promoting social control over the population.
Works Cited
Carlson, Elof. "Social Origins of Eugenics." Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement. Eugenics Archive. Web. 08 June 2011. .
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf: Zwei Bände in Einem Band. Vol. 1. Bottom of the Hill, 1938. Print.
Proctor, Robert. Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the Nazis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 1988. Print.
Sanger, Alexander. "Eugenics, Race, and Margaret Sanger Revisited: Reproductive Freedom for All?" Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy 22.2 (2007): 210-17. Print.
Galton, David J., and Clare J. Galton. "Francis Galton: And Eugenics Today." Journal of Medical Ethics, 24.2 (1998): 99-101. JSTOR. Web. 8 Mar. 2010.
The term eugenics was coined in the late 19th century. Its goal was to apply the breeding practices and techniques used in plants and animals to human reproduction. Francis Galton stated in his Essays in Eugenics that he wished to influence "the useful classes" in society to put more of their DNA in the gene pool. The goal was to collect records of families who were successful by virtue of having three or more adult male children who have gain superior positions to their peers. His view on eugenics can best be summarized by the following passage:
...ng on Justice Douglas view, it is not right to use genetics and issues of hereditary in legal decisions (Reilly, 1991). Such natural aspects should not violate the individual’s right of procreation and fourteen amendments. Everybody is therefore entitled to basic civic rights. Eugenics movement disappeared after the atrocities by the Germany regime. Although Holmes there was overturning of Homes decision eventually, Ms. Buck and many feebleminded American citizens were victims of State and Supreme Court immorality. Reviewing of the focus period, neither society nor individual got benefits of Compulsory sterilization statutes. The change of attitudes towards mental handicapped people over time is interesting. From late 1950s in the United States, civil and women rights movement, contribute to acts governing the handicapped rights including their rights to reproduce.
The concept of eugenics was not initially intended to prevent overcrowding, however, it would later be used as a form of population control. Eugenics is the idea of improving society by breeding fitter people. Francis Galton was the first person to originate this term and was a major proponent of the concept during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The practice of eugenics was originally performed through the use of selective breeding. Eugenics was a progressive idea, driven by social perceptions. In fact, "many of its most strident advocates were socialist, who saw eugenics as enlightened state planning of reproduction."2 Fearing the degradation of society, the elite desired to prevent further social decay of the world by eliminating individuals who were considered unfit physically, mentally, or socially.
The material analyzed by Alexandra Minna Stern circulates in the form of a book titled “Eugenics Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in Modern America,” that was originally published in November 2007. The book is chronologically sequenced in order to provide the reader with detailed accounts of social eugenic practices throughout different periods in America History. In her book, Stern seeks to examine the connection between eugenics and the emergence of environmental movements in the state of California through the life of key figures such as Fairfield Osborn, Jordan Goethe, and John C. Merriam. In addition, the author extrapolates how radically progressive changes in California went on to influence
Eugenics, the set of beliefs and practices which aim at improving the genetic quality of the human population played a significant role in the history and culture of United States prior to its involvement in World War Two. (Wiki) Gilman is the writer of late 19th and early 20th century and during this century which is known as progressive era, Eugenics was considered a method of preserving and improving the dominant groups in the population. The idea of Eugenics was brought up by Sir Francis Galton in America. They think that by the idea of eugenics there will be a development in a society. America also made American Breeder’s Association which later on founded the Eugenics Record office, and with certain mission and, in their mission statement, they wrote: Society must protect itself; as it claims the right to deprive the murder of his life so it may also annihilate the hideous serpent of hopelessly vicious protoplasm. Here is where appropriate legislation will aid in eugenics and creating a healthier, saner society in the
Eugenics- Eugenics is a term coined by Francis Galton in 1883 and it is the belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population. This idea that one could trace hereditary problems and find solutions for them gained significant ground in addressing certain societal issues such as poor people and welfare. Two types of eugenics emerged, positive and negative, but the U.S., negative eugenics was preferred. This is the idea of destroying defectives and degenerates from the population to promote and preserve the fittest, a very social Darwinist idea. This is important to sexuality because many homosexuals were sterilized, thus creating the stigma that homosexuality was a disease that could be cured.
The eugenics movement started in the early 1900s and was adopted by doctors and the general public during the 1920s. The movement aimed to create a better society through the monitoring of genetic traits through selective heredity. Over time, eugenics took on two different views. Supporters of positive eugenics believed in promoting childbearing by a class who was “genetically superior.” On the contrary, proponents of negative eugenics tried to monitor society’s flaws through the sterilization of the “inferior.”
Perkins, H.F.. A Decade of Progress in Eugenics: Scientific Papers of the Third International Congress of Eugenics. 1993 Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins Company.
The history of harmful eugenic practices, spurring from the Nazi implementations of discrimination towards biologically inferior people has given eugenics a negative stigma (1,Kitcher, 190). Genetic testing, as Kitcher sees it through a minimalistic perspective, should be restrained to aiding future children with extremely low qualities of life (2,Kitcher, 190). He believes that genetic engineering should only be used to avoid disease and illness serving the role of creating a healthier human race. He promotes laissez-faire eugenics, a “hands off” concept that corresponds to three components of eugenic practice, discrimination, coercion and division of traits. It holds the underlying works of genetic testing, accurate information, open access, and freedom of choice. Laissez-faire eugenics promises to enhance reproductive freedom preventing early child death due to genetic disease (3,Kitcher, 198). However there are dangers in Laissez-faire that Kitcher wants to avoid. The first is the historical tendency of population control, eugenics can go from avoiding suffering, to catering to a set of social values that will cause the practice of genetics to become prejudiced, insensitive and superficial. The second is that prenatal testing will become limited to the upper class, leaving the lower class with fewer options, creating biologically driven social barriers. Furthermore the decay of disability support systems due to prenatal testing can lead to an increased pressure to eliminate those unfit for society (4,Kitcher, 214).
"Eugenics: Did the Eugenics Movement Benefit the United States?" History in Dispute. Ed. Robert J. Allison. Vol. 3: American Social and Political Movements, 1900-1945: Pursuit of Progress. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000. 17-23. Canada In Context. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
The practice of eugenics was instituted in the late nineteenth century. Its objective was to apply the rearing practices and procedures utilized as a part of plants and creatures to human procreation. Francis Galton expressed in his Essays in Eugenics that he wished to impact "the useful classes" in the public arena to put a greater amount of their DNA in the gene pool. The objective was to gather records of families who were effective by virtue of having three or more grown-up male kids who had better positions than their associates. His perspective on eugenics can best be expressed by the accompanying section:
Kennedy, Angie, C. (2008) 'Eugenics, "Degenerate Girls" and Social Workers During the Progressive Era' Journal of Women and Social Work Vol 23 (1) pp 22-37
When created in 1923, the American Eugenics Society exemplified an air of reform with a seemingly positive purpose, however this cannot be further from the truth. In reality, the society polluted the air with myths of weeding out imperfections with the Galtonian ideal, the breeding of the fittest (Carison). The founder of the society, Charles Davensport , preached that those who are imperfect should be eliminated(Marks). From the school desk to the pulpit, the fallacies of the eugenics movement were forced into society. Preachers often encouraged the best to marry the best while biology professors would encourage DNA testing to find out ones fate (Selden). A...
During the Progressive Era, eugenics was first perceived as a possible method to eradicate unfavored races and nationalist from American society. The eugenic movement soon became concerned with the creation of minimum wages since it could “[rid] the labor force of the ‘unemployable” and that “the most ruinous to the community is to allow them to unrestrainedly compete as wage earners.” (Leonard 213). The science grew rapidly as it “ it appealed to an extraordinary range of political ideologies, not just progressives” (Leonard 216). Eugenics also pushed for child labor bans “because the unfit poor would be unable to put their children to work and thus would have fewer children, a eugenic goal” (Leonard