Overview
Three generations of imbeciles are enough." -Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes
British scientist Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in his revolutionary and controversial work, Origin of the Species, in 1859. The concept of evolution inspired fellow British scientist, Sir Francis Galton, to establish the concept of eugenics in 1883. Predicated on Darwin's theory of natural selection, a.k.a. the "survival of the fittest," Galton defined Eugenics as the science of "superior" reproduction. Galton believed the human species could improve, especially intellectually, if people with "ideal" genes were encouraged to procreate.
Eugenics Movements took root in the U.S. during the early twentieth. The goal of American eugenicists was twofold: 1) to improve the "human race" by discouraging Americans with "undesirable" genetic traits from reproducing, and 2) to encourage people with "desirable" genetic traits to reproduce. During the 1920s and 1930s, several U.S. state legislatures enacted sterilization laws and created Eugenics Boards to oversee what compulsory sterilization. Eugenics programs remained active in some U.S. states until the 1970s.
The 1st forced sterilization in the U.S.
In 1924 John and Alice Dobbs admitted their 17-year-old foster-child, Carrie Buck to the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics & Feebleminded. The superintendent, Albert Priddy, who declared Buck, "Feeble-minded of the lowest grade, moron class", petitioned the board of directors to sterilize Buck because she 1) allegedly had an IQ of a 9-year-old, and 2) was pregnant and already had conceived a child out of wedlock, a.k.a., Buck was promiscuous. The U.S. Supreme Court took up Bell’s case in Buck v. Bell (1927). Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who ruled in favor of sterilizing Buck, infamously stated, “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” The State of Virginia ordered the forced sterilization of Carrie Buck. She was only 21-years-old when a surgeon cut her fallopian tubes.
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Carrie & Emma Buck, 1924, Dept. of Special Collections & Archives, Uni. of Albany
North Carolina's Eugenics Board was particularly active. The Board ordered compulsory sterilizations of approximately 7,600 North Carolinians from 1929 to 1977. State Eugenics programs throughout the U.S. forcibly sterilized approximately 70,000 Americans during the 20th century, despite the fact that he Supreme Court overturned Buck V. Bell (1927) in Skinner v. Oklahoma (1942). During the ruling, Justice William O. Douglas passionately stated:
We are faced with legislation which involves one of the basic rights of man. Marriage and procreation are fundamental to the very existence of the race. The power to sterilize, if exercised, may have subtle, far-reaching and devastating effects. In evil or reckless hands it can cause races of types which are inimical to the dominant group to wither and disappear. There is no redemption for the individual whom the law touches. Any experiment the state conducts is to his irreparable injury. He is forever deprived of a basic liberty.
STOP! To answer the Lesson 5 Question Set, you are required to read, select, and include 2 takeaways from the Lesson 5 Reading, A Brutal Chapter in North Carolina's Eugenics Past, iLinks to an external in your response.
Reading URL:https://www.npr.org/2011/12/28/144375339/a-brutal-...
Optional Reading: Chapter 22: The New Era (Links to an external site.) in The American Yawp, http://www.americanyawp.com/
Instructions: Review the Discussion Lesson Instructionswithin the Discussion Lessons module for details.
DISCUSSION LESSON QUESTION SET:
1. View the following pamphlet, You wouldn't expect…,created in 1950 by the Human Betterment League of North Carolina, an organization formed in 1947 to encourage the sterilization of certain groups of Americans. What do you think was the goal of the Human Betterment League of North Carolina, and why?
2. What is your opinion of the policy of compulsory sterilization during the twentieth century? (I'm not seeking out a particular answer. Consider multiple viewpoints when answering this question.)
To access the 12 page pamphlet click below click the URL.
URL: https://digital.ncdcr.gov/Documents/Detail/you-wouldnt-expect-/501527?item=625645