Noble Blood
found at: http://www.genealogyintime.com
The idea that some people are born with better traits than others can be traced back to the ancient world. Many ancient civilizations had a practice of nobility intermarrying to keep the blood-lines pure. In ancient Egypt, the children of pharaohs are thought to have married. In Rome, some scholars believe the declining mental faculties of emperors over time may have been caused by inbreeding. In monarchical Europe, many royal families would marry their children into other royal families, perpetuating the divine mandate to rule through hereditary right. It is not uncommon today to hear some described as being "well-bred" or "from good stock." Nobility of blood is a time honored tradition in countless cultures the world over.
The Beginning
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
Sir Francis Galton was the originator of the term for and concept of eugenics. Cousin to Charles Darwin, Galton also coined the phrase “nature vs. nurture” in his 1869 work, Hereditary Genius. Galton also made many contributions to field of anthropology, being the first to use statistical methods, surveys, and questionnaires in his quest to better understand humanity. Unfortunately, his views on Mendelian genetics and how they could be applied to the human species lead to many people believing the myth of being able to breed a better society. Since Galton suggested that there was a scientific bases for the nobility of blood, many individuals, organizations, and governments have let eugenics guide their morality and policy making.
Eugenics in the Early 20th Century
found at: http://en.wikipedia.org
After Galton's work, many academics and scientists began to advocate the eugenics agenda the world over. The idea was simple; some people were born superior to others; the superior humans could be identified through a "scientific" examination of their heredity. Once people had a "scientific" justification, it wasn't long before minority groups and individuals with mental/physical disabilities became the target of eugenic laws and regulations, sometimes resulting in the forced sterilization of members of these groups who were deemed "feeble-minded" or having "undesirable" traits.
American Eugenics
found at: http://vizfact.com/
(Between 1928 and1973 over 60,000 American citizens sterilized)
While each state had separate laws pertaining to eugenics, there existed wide-spread support for eugenics movements across the entire country. At the height of the eugenics movement, 30 states had compulsory sterilization while the remaining 20 had pro-eugenics policies which coerced the “voluntary” sterilization of the “feeble-minded.” By the mid 1970s, when the last eugenics laws were overturned, over 60,000 American citizens had been sterilized as a direct result of eugenics laws.
While each state had separate laws pertaining to eugenics, there existed wide-spread support for eugenics movements across the entire country. At the height of the eugenics movement, 30 states had compulsory sterilization while the remaining 20 had pro-eugenics policies which coerced the “voluntary” sterilization of the “feeble-minded.” By the mid 1970s, when the last eugenics laws were overturned, over 60,000 American citizens had been sterilized as a direct result of eugenics laws.
Nazi Eugenics
found at: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
Under Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany participated in eugenics on a grand scale. Hitler did not come up with the ideas of eugenics, but rather, he looked to the United States. In Mein Kampf, Hitler stated “There is today one state, Hitler wrote, in which at least weak beginnings toward a better conception [of immigration] are noticeable. Of course, it is not our model German Republic, but the United States." Further saying, “I have studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would, in all probability, be of no value or be injurious to the racial stock.”