Eugenics Outline

Introduction
The end of the Civil War allowed the soldiers to lay down their weapons, but from the ashes of the battle rose politicians wielding theirs
Industrial Growth Causes Problems
Rapid growth of industry caused cities to expand
Depressions and bankruptcy fueled labor unrest
Influx of immigrants complicated matters C. Social Darwinism
The idea of “Survival of the Fittest”
Tried to explain away social and economic inequalities
The rich were reproducing less, thought they were losing control
The working class was organizing against the rich
Original solutions for solving the poors’problems wasn’t working
Eugenics was created as a solution D. Although Eugenics lowered the rate of epidemics and overpopulation, it was not justifiable because it

In the movie theatre, "The Black Stork" played – a film that supported eugenic sterilization
b. In church, men and women would listen to a sermon selected for an award by the American Eugenics Society, who would preach that human improvement would only be gained by marriages of society's "best" with the "best"
Implanted in Popular Culture a. The American Eugenics Society was comprised of prominent and wealthy individuals, many of them not scientists, who promoted racial betterment b. The AES organized eugenics exhibits at state fairs and warned "some Americans are born to be a burden on the rest"
c. On a field trip to a state fair, students could have a eugenic evaluation at a Fitter Families Exhibit, hoping to win a medal
Influence from Education
a. In school, from a young age, students’ biology textbooks would recommend the eugenic policies of immigration restriction, sterilization, and race segregation
b. After 1914, courses on eugenics were offered at prestigious universities i. Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, and Brown
c. In the 1920s, the National Education Association's Committee on