Eugenics is a belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population. (Wow! Every word in that sentence is a landmine of problems!) Although the idea of eugenics (but not the term) is contained in the Greek philosopher Plato's Republic, the modern concept became prominent during the second half of the 19th Century. Its predecessor was the group of sociological theories known as Social Darwinism. The favorite phrases of Social Darwinism "struggle for existence" and "survival of the fittest" - when applied to humans in society, suggested that the rich were better endowed than the poor and hence more successful in life. The continual and natural sorting out of "better" and "worse" elements would, in theory, lead to continued improvement of the human species. Eugenics differs from Social Darwinism because Social Darwinism was characterized by its laissez-faire attitude, that is, letting nature take its course so that the worst elements of society were eventually be eliminated. Eugenics, on the other hand, preaches that proper breeding is the key to bettering society. In other words, you push for the higher reproduction of people with desired traits (called "positive eugenics") and prevent the reproduction of those with less-desired traits (called "negative eugenics").

This can't be serious, can it?

Oh, it is. The modern eugenicsmovement was closely associated with a sense of white Anglo-Saxon superiority. Sir Francis Galton (Charles Darwin's cousin), the founder of the English eugenics movement, for example, had been drawn to the study of human heredity and eugenics by his curiosity about what he called the hereditary "genius" in his own family... as in, "Damn, we're a smart bunch. We should be breeding more." (I'm guessing his knighthood went to his head.) The publication of Darwin's The Origin of Species in 1859 was an event that changed Galton's life. He became obsessed with the first chapter about the breeding of domestic animals (um, what?) and devoted the rest of his life to exploring the variations found in the human population. In so doing, he established a research program which categorized multiple aspects of humans, from mental characteristics to height; from facial images to fingerprint patterns. In 1883, a year after Darwin died, Galton took the Greek root words for "good" and "origin" and named his research "eugenics".

As a social movement, eugenics reached its greatest popularity in the early decades of the 20th Century. By this point, eugenics was practiced around the world and promoted by imperialist governments. Many countries enacted eugenic policies, including genetic screening, birth control, marriage restrictions, segregation (both racial segregation and segregation of the mentally ill from the rest of the population), forced sterilization, forced abortions, forced pregnancies... and genocide. The movement was especially strong in England, the U.S., and Germany from 1910-1940.

In the U.S., the eugenics movement received extensive funding from major corporations, including the Carnegie Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation. Even the inventor of corn flakes, J. H. Kellogg, launched the Race Betterment Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. (Yea, now your cereal tastes like shame! But trust me, that was one weird dude. Real the caption under his picture. And then go eat some cereal...) Renowned biologist, Charles B. Davenport, organized the Eugenics Record Office in New York and the American Breeder's Association (ABA). He formed the ABA specifically to "investigate and report on heredity in the human race, and to emphasize the value of superior blood and the menace to society of inferior blood." One of the ABA's biggest members wasAlexander Graham Bell. (Yea, now your phone sounds racist.)

Eugenics exerted considerable influence on popular opinion and was reflected in some state and Federal legislation. Starting with Indiana in 1907,31 states passed sterilization laws aimed at breeding out various social "misfits": the mentally retarded, criminals, and the insane. (Indiana was the first, California conducted the most, and North Carolina was the most aggressive: an IQ lower than 70 meant sterilization was appropriate.) Laws were also passed restricting marriages between members of various racial groups. Even the National Federation of Women's Clubs, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and the National League of Women Voters were among major feminist organizations that lobbied in favor of eugenics, specifically birth control and sterilization in order to prevent unwanted children from being born into poverty and to curb passing on mental diseases or birth defects. However, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, made it abundantly clear that it wasa woman's decision and not the state whether or not to have a child. (Some see this as the start of the Pro-Choice Movement.)

The key triumph of the U.S. eugenics movement came in 1924, when a coalition of eugenicists and some big-business interests pushed through the Immigration Act of 1924, also known as the National Origins Act. The actseverely limited immigration into the U.S. from Eastern European and Mediterranean countries. Eugenicists claimed that these immigrants were inferior to Anglo-Saxons (whites) and were "polluting" the "pure" American bloodstream. By 1928, there were 376 courses in some of America's leading universities, enrolling more than 20,000 students.

After the eugenics movement was firmly in place in the U.S., it spread to Germany. Eugenicists in California began producing literatureto promoteeugenics and sterilization and sent it to German scientists and medical "professionals". By 1933, California had subjected more people to forced sterilization than all other U.S states combined.(Most werepoor, sick, and non-white.)The sterilization program engineered by the Nazis wasinspired by California's.

But wait... it gets worse.

The Rockefeller Foundation helped develop and fund various German eugenics programs, including the one that Josef Mengele worked in before he went to the concentration camp Auschwitz. (Mengele was the notorious Nazi doctor that performed horrific experiments on people.) Upon returning from Germany in 1934, where more than 5,000 people per month were being forcibly sterilized, the California eugenics leader C. M. Goethe bragged to a colleague: "You will be interested to know that your work has played a powerful part in shaping the opinions of the group of intellectuals who are behind Hitler in this epoch-making program. Everywhere I sensed that their opinions have been tremendously stimulated by American thought. I want you, my dear friend, to carry this thought with you for the rest of your life, that you have really jolted into action a great government of 60 million people."

After World War II, however, historians began to portray U.S. eugenics as different from Nazi eugenics. (Of course they did!) The movement in the U.S. was largely discredited by the fact that eugenics was central to both the theory and practice of Nazism. Still, California continued forced sterilizations on prisoners as late as the mid-1960s, mostly because California's long-time attorney general was a big supporter of the practice, and it wasn't formally outlawed there until 1979. (In fact, from 2006-2010, 148 women were illegally sterilized in California's prisons.)

Eugenicsis rightfully andseverely criticized for what can be calledovert racial bias, subjectivity in the use of evidence, and lack of scientific "proof".Eugenics isa shameful reminder of what happens when science mixes with racism. But don't worry. You can sleep on this fun fact: eugenics is still officially permitted in the U.S. today. WHAT?!

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Social Darwinism - Dr. Hartnell's Nutty the A.D.D. Squirrel