TW – This topic will discuss sensitive topics including racism, discrimination, and forced sterilization. Reader discretion is advised.
One of the darkest zeitgeists seen in the history of psychology and medicine, eugenics provided a false scientific justification for discriminatory practices in the late 1800s and throughout the 1900s. Not only is its legacy still felt today – it is making an unsettling comeback. We must understand these practices before history repeats.
What is Eugenics
The term eugenics was first coined in 1883 by Francis Galton – a statistician, demographer, ethnologist, and cousin of Charles Darwin. Put simply, eugenics is a collection of beliefs and practices that center around promoting “good genes” throughout the general population through control of reproduction. So-called “good genes” identified by eugenists primarily consist of individuals of white European descent while racial minorities and those with disabilities are considered to have “bad genes”. This was derived from (yes racism, but also) the fact that minority communities have higher rates of disease, worse education, and generally lower life expectancies. One of the primary issues with this reasoning is that it only looks at hereditary factors and completely neglects socio-economic and cultural factors that contribute to these issues. Modern sociologists and psychologists recognize that minorities often struggle with these issues but it is most often because of a lack of quality resources and care – not because of their genetics. This flaw in logic did not stop eugenics from becoming a global movement however.
Eugenics in Practice
Marriage laws of the 1890s were perhaps the first sign of the American eugenics movement. These laws prevented individuals with mental illness or disorders from marrying. In the 1900s, American biologist Charles Davenport established the Eugenics Record Office – the headquarters of the American Eugenics movement. The ERO recorded family trees and identified “superior bloodlines”. This information was used to promote policies related to fertility treatments and forced sterilization. Many prisons began forced vasectomies of male inmates. A similar practice was implemented in institutions housing the mentally ill as well. The courts upheld these practices in cases, such as Buck v Bell (1927), granting legal authority to eugenicists.
Psychologists, such as Henry Goddard, played an instrumental role in eugenics. Seen as experts in human thought and intelligence, research psychologists collected data that was used to justify discriminatory practices against both racial minorities and those with intellectual or developmental disabilities. We now know that many of these studies were deeply flawed or biased. At the time, however, this research was taught in schools and used to create discriminatory policies around the world.
Henry Laughlin, an American educator, is often recognized as a major contributor to forced sterilization laws within the US. He was so influential in fact that he is believed to have influenced the racial hygiene laws implemented by Nazi Germany. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the early years of Nazi rule and American eugenic laws of that time. Forced sterilization and marriage regulations were in place prior to concentration camps. Concentration camps themselves were seen as a method to control the genetic makeup of humanity and purge those deemed “undesirable”. The Holocaust itself was an implementation of eugenics.
Despite the horrors of the Holocaust, the United States continued the practice of forced sterilization through the 1960s. It was not until the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that individuals with disabilities received basic protection from discrimination in public settings. These rights did not extend to protection in private business and employment until the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. You might be surprised to learn that while these laws laid the groundwork for legislation banning forced sterilization, no such law was ever passed on the federal level. Many states have since banned these practices, and ADA provides room for discrimination claims in cases where such things do happen, but eugenic reproduction procedures are not explicitly illegal. This is a very crucial point to take note of when looking at our current situation and towards the future.
Eugenics Today
Seeing as how the civil rights and disability rights movements were not that long ago, there are still individuals who suffered through the eugenic movement alive today. Additionally, these practices (like other racist or abilist movements) have had a lasting impact on many generations. Many of the systematic issues still faced by minority communities can be traced back to the eugenic movement. Recognizing this is the first step towards improving services and fighting inequality.
Eugenics also had a lasting impact on psychology. Psychology was only beginning to be recognized as its own study separate from philosophy around the time the eugenics movement took hold. Many of the institutions that are important to psychological research and education today were built on the principles of eugenics. Luckily, most of these organizations have denounced eugenics and use their history as a reminder to do better. That being said, the eugenics movement still had a drastic impact on psychological studies. It is impossible to say how far back psychological research was set by only focusing on genetic factors. Had environmental factors been included, we could have had earlier breakthroughs in many of the issues we still face today. On the service side, many individuals were not provided the real support they needed because of the way their mental health needs were dismissed. This has led to cases of unsolved generational trauma, systematic racism, and a lack of support for those with both physical and mental disabilities.
Although there has been some progress since the times of the eugenics movement, there is a concerning reemergence of eugenic beliefs today. It is terrifying to hear modern politicians talk about “bad genes” or the genetic makeup of the United States. This language goes back to that which was used by eugenicists of the 19th and 20th centuries. With immigration, DEI, and racial justice being hot topics in our politics, it is concerning to consider how much eugenics plays into the policies impacting these issues. It is important to recognize the legacy of eugenics so that we can prevent future tragedies like those that arose out of the eugenics movement.
If you are in need of services, please see Resources.
To learn more about the American Eugenics movement and its connection to psychology, please see the following references…
Buck v. Bell (U.S. Supreme Court)
Eugenics (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Eugenics and Involuntary Sterilization: 1907–2015 (Annual Reviews)
Eugenics and Scientific Racism (NIH – National Human Genome Research Institute)
Letter from Dr. Harry H. Laughlin to Dr. Carl Schneider (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
The legacy of eugenics (University of California, Berkeley)
Unfit to Breed: America’s Dark Tale of Eugenics (NIH – Intramural Research Program)
Leave a Reply