View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OTHES Diplomarbeit Breeding better Americans The Impact of Eugenics and Scientific Racism on 20th Century Social Politics in the US. Verfasser Marlene Scherf Angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra der Philosophie (Mag. phil.) Wien, Jänner 2012 Studienkennzahl: A 300 Studienrichtung: Politikwissenschaft Betreuerin: Mag. Dr. Karin Liebhart 2 Table of Contents Persönliche Erklärung ................................................................................ 7 Remarks ................................................................................................... 8 Acknowledgements .................................................................................... 9 Introduction ............................................................................................ 10 1. Personal Approach and Motivation ............................................... 11 1.1 Topic of Research and methodological Approach ................................. 11 1.2 Structural outline of thesis ...................................................................... 13 2. Main Terms .................................................................................... 13 2.1 Scientific Racism ................................ Fehler! Textmarke nicht definiert. 2.2 Eugenics .................................................................................................. 14 2.3 Compulsory Sterilization ........................................................................ 15 3 Development of Eugenics in History ............................................. 15 3.1 Developments in Britain ......................................................................... 16 3.2 United States Movement ........................................................................ 18 3.3 The Oneida Community ......................................................................... 22 3.4 Francis Galton ......................................................................................... 23 3.5 Charles Davenport .................................................................................. 25 3.6 Davenport‟s Research ............................................................................. 27 4 Influence of Foreign Blood ............................................................ 28 5 Eugenics and Scientific Racism in the 20th Century .................... 30 5.1 H.R. 10384: Immigration Bill of 1917 / Immigration Act of 1924 ........ 31 3 5.2 Harry Laughlin ........................................................................................ 36 5.3 Laughlin‟s “Model Law” ........................................................................ 36 5.4 Laughlin‟s Idea of Immigration Policy .................................................. 38 6 Financing ........................................................................................ 40 6.1 The Pioneer Fund .................................................................................... 43 7 Sterilization in the US .................................................................... 46 7.1 First Signs of Compulsory Sterilization Laws........................................ 46 7.1.1 Compulsory Sterilization in California ............................................ 47 7.1.2 Overview Sterilization Laws in California (Gottshall) .................... 47 7.1.3 California Sterilization law facts ...................................................... 50 7.2 Sterilization in Virginia .......................................................................... 51 7.2.1 Buck vs. Bell .................................................................................... 51 7.3 Sterilization abuses ................................................................................. 52 7.3.1 Nial Ruth Cox ................................................................................... 52 7.3.2 Relf Sisters ........................................................................................ 52 7.3.3 Mardirgal vs. Quilligan .................................................................... 53 8 William Shockley‟s Voluntary Sterilization Bonus Plan .............. 54 8.1 Anti-miscegenation Laws ....................................................................... 55 8.2 Racial Integrity Act ................................................................................. 56 8.3 Loving vs. Virginia ................................................................................. 57 9 Transformation of the Eugenics Movement .................................. 59 9.1 Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases ............. 63 9.2 The Cooper-Hewitt Case ........................................................................ 65 9.3 The fear of “race suicide” ....................................................................... 66 9.3.1 Medicine and Family (-planning) ..................................................... 67 9.3.2 Education meets Heredity ................................................................ 69 10 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 72 4 11 Annex ............................................................................................. 76 11.1 Short overview and timeline of the US Eugenic Movement .................. 76 11.2 Short overview and timeline of the US policy on immigration and Naturalization ................................................................................................... 77 12 References/Sources ........................................................................ 81 13 Abstracts ......................................................................................... 86 5 6 Persönliche Erklärung Ich erkläre hiermit, dass ich die vorliegende schriftliche Arbeit selbstständig verfertigt habe und dass die verwendete Literatur bzw. die verwendeten Quellen von mir korrekt und in nachprüfbarer Weise zitiert worden sind. Mir ist bewusst, dass ich bei einem Verstoß gegen diese Regeln mit Konsequenzen zu rechnen habe. 16. Jänner, 2012 _______________ ______________________________ Datum Marlene SCHERF 7 Remarks The purpose of this thesis is to provide an insight in the US Eugenics and Scientific Racism policy in the 20th century and discover a connection between them. I aim to base my argument on reliable sources. The objective of this thesis is to give a valuable insight into the topic of Scientific Racism and raise awareness about the fact that Scientific Racism is still a big issue in our society nowadays. Certainly, with reference to the Holocaust we have a devastating historical past to keep in mind, but nevertheless there are issues such as Scientific Racism, which have to be clearly separated from these excruciating events in our history in order to maintain its own importance. Still there is a linkage to National Socialism as the US Eugenics Movement showed some interest and enthusiasm for the work of German racial hygiene. There are many countries, which suffered under different kinds of Scientific Racism such as Puerto Rico or South Africa during Apartheid. For my research I took a closer look at the situation in the US where the issue of Scientific Racism has been very difficult, as outlined above. 8 Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to express my thankfulness to Dr. Karin Liebhart, who supported me and my research and was very patient and understanding throughout the process of writing this thesis. My appreciation also goes to Mama, David, Mara, Angelina, Tina, Gernot, Laura my friends and colleagues, and especially Andreas Riecken and Ambassador Christian Prosl – there are not enough words to describe my gratitude. Thank you. 9 Introduction Scientific Racism is mostly known as a social and scientific phenomenon in the United States. In the 19th and 20th century American scientists spent millions of dollars on research in order to prove that certain groups of Americans are superior to others by birth. The research took different directions and soon found its way into US social politics: laws for compulsory (forced) Sterilization were enacted, in schools students were educated on how to find a good husband or wife for demographic reasons and of course the racial problem between the black and the white population intensified. The crucial point for studies on Scientific Racism was the Eugenics Movement with its early roots in the 18th century. The compulsory Sterilization is just one example of how Scientific Racism made it into social politics. Compulsory Sterilization is also known as forced Sterilization which basically means that the procedure was performed without the agreement of the patient or to be more specific, in some cases an agreement was not necessary due to insufficient the physical or mental condition of the patient. The condition of the patient could have been diagnosed by a doctor, physician or for example by the State Eugenicist. At the end of the 1950‟s a forced Sterilization law was enacted in 27 US States. It took a long time until the law disappeared again from the books. In 1981 Oregon was to be the last state, which performed a legal Sterilization. Another issue, which was highly supported by the Eugenics Movement in the United States, was that of marriage. In the course of this movement “marriage laws” were enacted which had the purpose to prevent “inter-racial” marriages. In other words: They enacted laws to prohibit marriages between