The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School The College of the Liberal Arts BODY POLITIC: GOVERNMENT AND PHYSIQUE IN TWENTIETH CENTURY AMERICA A Dissertation in History and Women’s Studies by Rachel Louise Moran ©2013 Rachel Louise Moran Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2013 ii The dissertation of Rachel Louise Moran was review and approved* by the following: Lori Ginzberg Professor of History and Women’s Studies Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Greg Eghigian Associate Professor of History Chloe Silverman Assistant Professor of English and Women’s Studies Lee Ann Banaszak Professor of Political Science and Women’s Studies Jennifer Mittelstadt Associate Professor of History Special Member Rutgers University Michael Kulikowski Professor of History and Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies Head, Department of History * Signatures are on file with the Graduate School. iii Abstract Although often believed to be a recent phenomenon, there is a long history of federal projects designed to shape American weight and physique. These issues have not been taken seriously because they are not obvious state interventions, but are instead part of what I define as the “Advisory State.” I conceptualize the advisory state as a repertoire of governing tools, as well as the actual use of these tools. Advisory state tools are political projects instituted not through physical force and not through coercion. Rather, these governing tools include federal research with explicit social aims, an expectation that persons and groups outside the state will voluntarily do the work asked of them by state, and the use of persuasive discourses like quantification and advertising to compel what cannot be legislated. My dissertation draws from literatures of weight and physique culture, biopolitics, and feminist body history, while refusing to separate the history of weight from the politics of American state development. Refusing this separation, and recognizing the intimate bond between the federal and the cultural, requires us to refocus our ideas about how federal policy-making works. iv Table of Contents List of Figures…………………………………………………………...………………… v Acknowledgements ……………………………………………………………………… vii Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………… 1 1. Potential Energy: ………………………………………………………………… 16 Agricultural Experiment Stations and the Origins of the American Body Project 2. A Woman’s Work to Know about Children……………………………..…….. 50 Voluntary Labor for the Children’s Bureau, 1912-1928 3. Fatter, Thinner, or As Is?......................................................................................... 89 The Apprehensive Advice of the Bureau of Home Economics, 1923-1933 4. Builder of Men………………………………………………………………… 116 The Civilian Conservation Corps and the Muscular State, 1933-1945 5. Big Men, Big Government?…………………………………………………… 151 The Selective Service and Physical Standards, 1940-1948 6. Advertising as Advising…..……. …..……………………………………..……. 177 The President’s Council on Youth Fitness in the Post-War Era Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………… 212 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...……… 220 v List of Figures Chapter 1 Figure 1 – Atwater’s respiration calorimeter … 31 Figure 2 – Diagram of Pettenkofer’s respiration apparatus … 32 Figure 3 – Edward Atkinson’ Science of Nutrition … 35 Figure 4 – Illustration from Atwater, “The Chemistry of Foods and Nutrition” … 36 Figure 5 – Atwater, the fuel value of foods … 39 Figure 6 – Ellen Swallow Richards … 41 Chapter 2 Figure 1 – Julia Lathrop … 54 Figure 2 – Infant Mortality Thermometer … 56 Figure 3 – Bird Baldwin height-weight tables … 59 Figure 4 –Baby contest measurement card …63 Figure 5 – Children’s bureau publications … 68 Figure 6 – The Children’s Year … 77 Figure 7 – Children’s Year weight form … 80 Figure 8 – Measuring board … 81 Figure 9 – Tables developed from Children’s Year … 85 Chapter 3 Figure 1 – Hazel Stiebeling … 92 Figure 2 – Course illustration … 93 Figure 3 – Louise Stanley … 96 Figure 4 – Calcium poster … 100 Figure 5 – Nutrition worker weighing rat … 100 Figure 6 – A network of home economists … 104 Chapter 4 Figure 1 – FDR at Virginia camp … 123 Figure 2 – Robert Fechner … 127 Figure 3 – Enrollee with hammer … 140 Figure 4 – Enrollee with pipe … 141 Figure 5 – Cartoon from Happy Days … 146 Chapter 5 Figure 1 – Captain America … 151 Figure 2 – Leonard Rowntree … 155 Figure 3 – Lewis B. Hershey … 155 vi Figure 4 – Standards relating to height, weight, and chest … 159 Figure 5 – Local examination … 160 Figure 6 – Induction examination … 162 Figure 7 – Weighing and measuring … 170 Chapter 6 Figure 1 – Shane MacCarthy and John F. Kennedy … 189 Figure 2 – Map of state support for programs … 192 Figure 3 – “Any Kid Who Wants My Job” … 198 Figure 4 – “If You See Any of Your Students” … 203 Figure 5 – “the Future Belongs to the Fit” … 207 Conclusion Figure 1 – Marine, before and after … 213 Figure 2 – WIC voucher … 215 vii Acknowledgements Body Politics bears the imprint of innumerable colleagues, friends, and family members. It is clearer, bolder, and smarter thanks to them. Above all, I have had the incredible fortune of having two advisers on this project. Jennifer Mittelstadt and Lori Ginzberg complimented each other perfectly. Jen has been an incredible force in my intellectual development. The “big ideas” of this dissertation were shaped through discussions with her, and she consistently encouraged me to think bold and believe in my work. Lori provided shrewd critique at every stage. She did her best to kill the adverbs, passive voice, and superfluous adjectives contained within, and bears no responsibility for those that remain. I cannot imagine a better duo guiding me, and I cannot thank either of them enough. I have had a great deal of financial support in researching and writing this dissertation. At the research stage, I received generous funding from the National Science Foundation’s Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant in Science, Technology, and Society. I also received research funding from the Eisenhower Library, the Cornell School of Human Ecology, the Penn State University College of Liberal Arts, and the George and Ann Richards Center. For writing, I am especially indebted to the time provided by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation’s Charlotte Newcome Dissertation Fellowship and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center for Public Affairs. I also owe thanks to the History and Women’s Studies departments, Rock Ethics Center, Institute for Arts and Humanities, and College of Liberal Arts at Penn State University. All provided support for writing and revising. The University of Georgia’s Emerging Scholars Fellowship in Home Economics also provided an opportunity to refine the ideas in Chapter 3. I had the fortune of working with a number of enthusiastic, helpful archivists. Gene Morris has assisted me year after year at the National Archives II. At Cornell, Eileen Keating knew every record group in and out. Emma Brock at the Advertising Council archives and Janice Goldblum at the National Academies of Science archives both went above and beyond. I am indebted to too many other wonderful archivists to list here, but suffice it to say the extensive archival research of this project would not have been possible without their assistance. My colleagues at UVA’s Miller Center allowed me to spend a year in an academic fantasyland, from daily debates on politics to springtime wiffleball games. Thank you Emily Charnock, Jack Epstein, Robert Henderson, and Kyle Lascurettes. My time there also led me to two wonderful mentors, Brian Balogh and Margot Canaday. I cannot imagine the dissertation without their insightful reads of early chapter drafts. Greg Eghigian has challenged me to keep contemporary political and social concerns at the forefront of my historical inquiry. Chloe Silverman, Lee Ann Banaszak, and David Atwill have all provided critical intellectual and professional support. A special thanks to Beate Brunow, Matt Isham, Katie Johnson, Cecilia Márquez, Amy Rutenberg, and Emily Seitz. Each has generously read and critiqued pieces of this, and has influenced the ideas presented here. Finally, I owe impossible debts to my partner and my parents. Jack Phillips enthusiastically read drafts while stationed in the Gulf and made me very strong coffee while home. He has also helped keep me focused on the big picture: that I don’t just want to produce knowledge, I want to produce knowledge that matters beyond academia. My parents have also been incredible through the process. I was raised to ask hard questions, read everything in sight, and take intellectual risks. Never once did they question my academic path, even when any normal parent would worry about their kid pursuing seven years of extra education with poor job outcomes. They just trusted that I could pull it off, and promised to be there if I could not. This project is for them. 1 Introduction “Anyone who thinks the president has no effect on the average person’s life should corner a teenage girl and ask her about the ‘flexed arm hang.’”1 -comedian Sarah Vowell When First Lady Michelle Obama announced a national weight loss and fitness initiative called “Let’s Move” in 2010, not everyone was a fan. Fox News correspondent Sean Hannity said the program was “taking the nanny state to a new level.” “Michelle Obama,” he explained, “is suggesting what you should feed your children.”2 On another television show that night, outspoken conservative