Eugenics Research Paper

Eugenics

The human’s natural urge to generate an ideal offspring and strive to live in some degree of a utopian society has caused man to be disheartened by the mental and/or physical disfigurations in which they possess. With this mind set and the seemingly infinite increase in intelligence of the Homo-sapiens species an innovative new pseudo-science is born; Eugenics. Eugenics is the researching of or direct belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of humans. This is done with the use of one of the two different methods. Although the people who started this interesting area of research did not know it yet, the birth of this new field of study will lead to some horrid events affecting the world and many acts of discrimination

that are simply swept under the rug.
Society as a whole is always striving to improve the quality of life through various advancements in technology, communication, and transportation and better understanding in the scientific fields.

With the novel idea pushed scientist to generate a way to rather improve the members of their respective societies opposed to the materials they own. Many other scientist hear about the plan and jump on board. The problem now is how. How to do this is a complex question; do we look for where human life messed up and attempt to change it or start in the present and begin to better manage the human race as a whole?

These two theories were questioned in depth to come to the conclusion that the first proposed would be extremely complicated and in the attempting to better manage human procreation would be more practical in contrast. So, the most basic way to go about doing this would be to start using artificial selection, as we do to breed pure blood lines in dogs, on humans and begin the process of Eugenics to weed out the

unfit.
The term eugenics was coined by Francis Galton in 1883. Galton has been quoted stating “man’s evolution is impeded by the fact that more inferior people procreate more rapidly” (Cohen). He believed physical and psychological characteristics were passed down from generation to generation (Rodgers). Galton’s cousin, Charles Darwin, wrote a book that Galton then read called “The Origin of Species” (Gillham). The book had influenced Galton to believe that even humanity could be somehow enhanced through the process natural selection (Gillham). His main focus was on the elements that governed talents and characteristics and also its correlation to hereditary make-up (Gillham).
In 1869 Galton wrote his own book on eugenics that he titled “Heredity Genius”. In this book he oversees the lives of some proficient men from, what he had thought to be, good families (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days) Galton predicted that the men from these families would be more likely to create intellectual and gifted descendants (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days). With this thought Galton thought that it would be conceivable to produce "a highly gifted race of men" by walking humans through the natural selection process. During Francis Galton’s research he proposed the two different tracks of eugenics. The first being positive eugenics and the other is Negative Eugenics (Cohen).
One method of Eugenics used to prevent unwanted traits from passing through the gene pool and this is Positive Eugenics. Positive Eugenics encourages the procreation among the more fit people in the population (Eugenics - Positive And Negative Eugenics). To support this theory of artificial human selection a Eugenicist named Charles Davenport came up with the notion that “Two imbecile parents, whether related or not, have only imbecile offspring” (goodreads).
With this quote by Davenport in mind scientist, many who believed strongly in eugenics, started to study pedigree charts more in depth.

A pedigree chart is a “diagram showing the lineage or genealogy of an individual and all the direct ancestors, usually to analyze or follow the inheritance of trait” (staff). These kinds of charts can be used to accurately predict the inheritance percent of a genetic trait, more specifically for family diseases or deficiencies, across several generations of the family (staff). Pedigree Studies where first used as agricultural traditions in the process of tracking the lineage of animals, mostly domesticated, with exceptionally desirable qualities (University of Lethbridge). Using these studies helps in the selective breeding process to predict the qualities of the selected animal’s offspring (University of Lethbridge).

“While agricultural pedigree charts are used to predict simple traits like eye color or body size, eugenicists extended these ideas to ‘trace’ human qualities such as alcoholism, poverty, ‘mental defect’ and criminality, which are not regularly thought of as genetically transmitted” (University of

Lethbridge).
This method, although not as wide spread as negative eugenics, swept through the United States rapidly! Even in the start of the nineteenth century eugenics was already completely incorporated within America’s culture. During this movement Eugenics was being widely communicated in the public schools system and along with that there were different movies very obviously promoting the topic (Cohen). The children in school would be taught about the practices of eugenics and how they were morally right to be able to purify the American gene pool (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days).
Among the community it started to become somewhat of a contest to withhold the best family heritage (Cohen). “Fitter Family” contests would be set-up at carnivals to decide the degree of purity a families lineage was rated (Cohen). The heritage contest attractions would be normally set-up right next to or in very close proximity to the animal shows and petting zoos (Eugenics). These odd competitions were first presented by the American Eugenics Society; they believed it was a good method for allowing people to earn bragging rights about their heritage (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days).
In Indiana, in 1907, a primitive eugenics law was sent through congress and it made it legal to sterilize people in prisons (Dolan). The law was then extended in the population to which it would cover. Now it would include burdens to the state and/or individuals who rely on public expenses to live. Not long after that expansion, the law was reworded to include the “inebriate, feebleminded, dependent, criminalistics, the homeless, diseased, paupers blind, insane, deaf, deformed, orphans, epileptic, and tramps,” (Dolan). Copying Indiana’s laws very closely, Virginia approved eugenic laws to target the mental institute patients and detention center inmates (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days). It wouldn’t be until the nineteen twenties that sterilization laws would become wide spread through America (Cohen). One of the laws that was proposed in New York advanced to become the basic layout prototype for sterilization laws in twelve different states and also worked as an idea for the Nazis set-up (Eugenics: Americas Darkest Days).
On the opposite side of the Eugenics spectrum lies Negative Eugenics which is the “improvement of the genetic makeup of a population by preventing the reproduction of the obviously unfit” (Negative Eugenics). More people usually frown upon the actual application of negative eugenics due to its very close relation with mass genocide and unwanted sterilization.
In the early nineteen hundreds a term that was, until then, absolutely unheard of would soon become known across the world; the phrase “race hygiene” would become the primary topic of interest in the scientific community. Race hygiene was coined by Alfred Ploetz, a German physician who strongly believed in Eugenics to save the German race (German/Nazi Eugenics). After taking a tremendous lose in World War One the Germans were ready to create the ideal human to prevent the humiliation from happening in the future. In 1927, the Rockefeller Foundation began supporting the funds for the building of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity, and Eugenics constructed in Germany’s capital (German/Nazi Eugenics). Many researchers attending the university would come to publish papers and even books based on the Eugenics topic. The dictator of Germany at the time, Eugen Fischer, wrote and published some reports that would soon fall into the wrong hands (German/Nazi Eugenics).
Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi party, tried to over throw the government in power but failed (History.com Staff). Now as an inmate in Landsberg jail, sentenced to five years for high treason, he began reading Fischer’s reports and expanding his knowledge on Eugenics (History.com Staff). When the Nazi party revolted again to have Hitler released the government could do nothing but give them what they want. Before his release he had already created the concept of the perfect Aryan race (German/Nazi Eugenics). Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, in which one of his primary changes was to the medical program (German/Nazi Eugenics). Within a year Hitler had passed the enactment of a law further allowing the involuntary sterilization of any being falling in any category of “feebleminded, mentally ill, epileptics, and alcoholics” (German/Nazi Eugenics). This act caused many series of unfortunate events;
“By the outbreak of WWII, in 1939, an estimated 400,000 people had been sterilized. However, in 1940 the need for hospital beds for wounded soldiers prompted a "final solution" for "lives not worth living." Psychiatrists and medical doctors identified more than 70,000 mental patients who were poisoned with carbon monoxide in extermination centers at psychiatric hospitals.After gassing of mental patients ceased in 1941, medical and other personnel with euthanasia experience were reassigned to concentration camps in Poland, where hydrogen cyanide gas was used to kill Jews, gypsies, Slavs, and Social Democrats” (German/Nazi Eugenics).
With these mass genocides occurring Hitler would began seeing his personal utopia becoming within reach. Eleven million people were murdered including over one million children and more than six million Jewish individuals, which totaled out to about two thirds of the Jewish population in Europe. Even then Hitler was not finished with creating his dream of an Aryan race but his efforts were impeded by the opposing forces in World War Two.
Although in the past eugenics has not been a kind method of improving human life; there is a new eugenics that is being used more maturely. It may still be seems as unjust to some, it is much more humane morally and ethically than what was done during World War Two.
Scientist increase in technological machinery has given us insight to what may lie ahead. There is now methods of eugenics happening such as eugenic abortion.