Eugenics is the philosophy and social movement that argues it is possible to improve the human race and society by encouraging reproduction by people or populations with desirable traits (termed positive eugenics) and discouraging reproduction by people with undesirable qualities (termed negative eugenics). The eugenics movement began in the United States in the early part of the 20th century; the United States was the first country to have a systematic program for performing sterilizations on individuals without their knowledge or against their will. It was supported and encouraged by a wide swath of people, including politicians, scientists, social reformers, prominent business leaders and other influential individuals who shared a goal of reducing the burden on society. The majority of people targeted for sterilization were deemed of inferior intelligence, particularly poor people and eventually people of color.[1]
In the early 20th century, many scientists were skeptical of the scientific underpinnings of eugenics. Eugenicists argued that parents from good stock produced healthier and intellectually superior children. They believed that traits such as poverty, shiftlessness, criminality and poor work ethic were inherited and that people of Nordic ancestry were inherently superior to other peoples, despite an obvious lack of evidence and scientific proof. However, eugenicists were able to persuade the Carnegie Institution and prestigious universities to support their work, thus legitimizing it and creating the perception that their philosophy was, in fact, science.
The eugenics movement became widely seen as a legitimate way to improve society and was supported by such people as Winston Churchill, Margaret Sanger, Theodore Roosevelt and John Harvey Kellogg. Eugenics became an academic discipline at many prominent colleges, including Harvard University, Dartmouth College, University of Washington and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among many others. From the outset, the movement also had critics, including lawyer and civil rights advocate Clarence Darrow as well as scientists who refuted the idea that purity leads to fewer negative gene mutations. Nevertheless, between 1927 and the 1970s, there were more than 60,000 compulsory sterilizations performed in 33 states in the United States; California led the nation with over 20,000. Experts think many more sterilizations were likely performed, but not officially recorded.[2]
Adolf Hitler based some of his early ideas about eugenics on the programs practiced in the United States. He was its most infamous practitioner; the Nazis killed tens of thousands of disabled people and sterilized hundreds of thousands deemed inferior and medically unfit. After World War II and the Holocaust, the American eugenics movement was widely condemned. However, sterilization programs continued in many states until the mid-1970s.
Today, safeguards have been established to ensure that the ethical implications of new technologies are discussed and debated before being employed on a large scale. In this way, the benefits and advances arising from scientific research and medical procedures can be achieved both ethically and humanely. Examples of the efforts of the United States government to ensure that progress in science, research and technology proceeds in an ethical and socially acceptable manner include the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, well known for the development of the Belmont Report, and the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) program housed in the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Many people fear that new advances in genetics could lead to a new era of eugenics. However, these advances lead to sometimes difficult ethical questions, particularly related to reproductive technologies and embryo screening. As science advances, what traits might people be able to choose or select against? Is it acceptable for prospective parents to have a say in which embryos are implanted in a womens uterus for non-medical reasons? Is it acceptable for society to dictate this decision to prospective parents? Many of the breakthroughs have saved lives and will continue to do so on a grander scale, and we, as a society, need to discuss the complex issues related to genetic technologies. Debate and discussion can be illuminating even though complete consensus about the intersection of genetics and society will be difficult.
This lesson provides students with a historical overview of the American eugenics movement and highlights some of the advances and breakthroughs that have been achieved through genetic and genomic research. Many people fear that new advances in genetics, particularly embryo screening and analysis of fetal DNA, could lead to a new era of eugenics. The goal of this lesson is for students to start discussing these topics so that they can understand the complexity of the issues and engage in conversations that contrast the dangers of eugenics with the benefits that can come from genetic information.
Download lesson plan: Word documentorPDFDownload slideshow: PowerPoint slides
Vermont Eugenics: A Documentary History
This lesson uses primary source documents to explore issues of race, gender and class in the 20th century. It is intended to extend the ideas explored in History, eugenics and genetics. The goal of this lesson is for students to use original sources to understand how the eugenics movement used propaganda to enter mainstream America to promote its agenda, and use critical thinking skills to analyze and interpret the sources.
Download lesson plan: Word documentorPDFDownload slideshow: PowerPoint slides
See the original post here:
- Eugenics - HISTORY - January 6th, 2019
- Eugenics - Wikipedia - January 6th, 2019
- Introduction to Eugenics - Genetics Generation - January 6th, 2019
- Eugenics | Definition of Eugenics by Merriam-Webster - January 6th, 2019
- eugenics | Description, History, & Modern Eugenics ... - January 6th, 2019
- Artificial intelligence - Wikipedia - January 3rd, 2019
- Benefits & Risks of Artificial Intelligence - Future of Life ... - January 3rd, 2019
- Online Artificial Intelligence Courses | Microsoft ... - January 3rd, 2019
- What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? - Definition from ... - January 3rd, 2019
- Artificial Intelligence: The Robots Are Now Hiring - WSJ - January 3rd, 2019
- What is AI (artificial intelligence)? - Definition from ... - January 3rd, 2019
- Artificial Intelligence - Journal - Elsevier - January 3rd, 2019
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence - Wikipedia - January 3rd, 2019
- Artificial Intelligence: The Pros, Cons, and What to Really Fear - January 3rd, 2019
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - IMDb - January 3rd, 2019
- Google Wins Lawsuit Over Facial Recognition Technology - January 1st, 2019
- Elon Musk Thinks the First Mars Settler Could Be an AI - January 1st, 2019
- Leaked Documents Show How Facebook Controls Speech Across the Globe - January 1st, 2019
- Gov Shutdown Means 95 Percent of NASA Employees Aren’t At Work - January 1st, 2019
- Scientists to Test New Cancer Treatment on Human Patients in 2019 - January 1st, 2019
- Holograms Are Resurrecting Dead Musicians, Raising Legal Questions - January 1st, 2019
- New Theory: The Universe is a Bubble, Inflated by Dark Energy - January 1st, 2019
- Poll: Two Thirds of Americans Support Human Gene Editing to Cure Disease - January 1st, 2019
- Foreign Cyberattack Cripples Major U.S. Newspapers - January 1st, 2019
- Demand for Combustion Engine Cars May Have Peaked in 2018 - January 1st, 2019
- Scientist Who Gene Edited Babies Is Being Held By Mysterious Guards - January 1st, 2019
- Washington May Become the First State to Legalize Human Composting - January 1st, 2019
- NASA Clears “Dream Chaser” Space Cargo Plane For Full-Scale Production - January 1st, 2019
- Rerouting Nerves During Amputation May Reduce Phantom Limb Pain - January 1st, 2019
- Experts: Stop Adding Cancer-Causing Chemicals to our Meats - January 1st, 2019
- Tiny Robots That Repair Pipes Could Eliminate Road Work - January 1st, 2019
- Edible Coating Can Keep Food Fresh Longer and Cut Down on Waste - January 1st, 2019
- Bill Gates: U.S. Leaders Must Embrace Nuclear Energy - January 1st, 2019
- The EU Is Banning Almost All Coal Mining on Jan 1 - January 1st, 2019
- Apollo Astronaut: It Would Be “Stupid” to Send People to Mars - December 29th, 2018
- Elon Musk Tweets Image of SpaceX’s Stainless Steel Starship - December 29th, 2018
- Cacti-Inspired Tech Could Keep You Hydrated After the Apocalypse - December 29th, 2018
- Your Christmas Tree Could Be Recycled Into Paint or Sweeteners - December 29th, 2018
- Space Travel Doesn’t Seem to Shorten Astronauts’ Lives, Says Study - December 29th, 2018
- Elon Musk Pledges Tesla Superchargers For All of Europe Next Year - December 29th, 2018
- China Is Building Its First Huge Battery Storage Facility - December 29th, 2018
- Startup Claims Its Underwear Stay Odor-Free Through Weeks of Wear - December 29th, 2018
- Microorganisms That Eat Seaweed Can Create Biodegradable Plastic - December 29th, 2018
- Australian Autonomous Train Is The “World’s Largest Robot” - December 29th, 2018
- Chinese Scientists Reportedly Lost Track of Gene-Edited Patients - December 29th, 2018
- Netflix’s Bandersnatch Teases the Future of Entertainment - December 29th, 2018
- Musk: Tesla’s Fully Autonomous Capabilities “About to Accelerate” - December 29th, 2018
- An App That Does Your Homework for You Is Now Worth $3 Billion - December 29th, 2018
- Virtual Reality Tumors Could Help Lead to New Cancer Treatments - December 29th, 2018
- New Multi-Sensory Mask Lets You Smell and Feel the Virtual World - December 29th, 2018
- New Fiber Could Be the Foundation for Futuristic Smart Garments - December 29th, 2018
- Eugenics - Wikipedia - December 27th, 2018
- eugenics | Description, History, & Modern Eugenics ... - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics - HISTORY - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics - definition of eugenics by The Free Dictionary - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics | Definition of Eugenics by Merriam-Webster - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics | definition of eugenics by Medical dictionary - December 27th, 2018
- Introduction to Eugenics - Genetics Generation - December 27th, 2018
- What is eugenics? pgEd - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenic | Definition of Eugenic by Merriam-Webster - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics | Psychology Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia - December 27th, 2018
- Eugenics - Wikipedia - December 23rd, 2018
- eugenics | Description, History, & Modern Eugenics ... - December 23rd, 2018
- Maafa 21 - December 23rd, 2018
- Eugenics in the United States Today: Are We on the Same ... - December 23rd, 2018
- Pope Francis Likens Abortion to Nazi Eugenics - WSJ - December 23rd, 2018
- Look at These Incredibly Realistic Faces Generated By A Neural Network - December 16th, 2018
- This Neptune-Sized Exoplanet Is Being Melted Away By Its Star - December 16th, 2018
- Porsche and BMW’s New EV Chargers Are 3x Faster Than Tesla’s - December 16th, 2018
- Biologists Engineered An Assassin Virus to Kill Bacteria on Command - December 16th, 2018
- How a High Tech Headband Can Help Your Meditation Practice - December 16th, 2018
- A Waymo Rider Talked Publicly About the Service — Even Though He Wasn’t Supposed To - December 16th, 2018
- Scammers Sent Hoax Bomb Threats Worldwide Demanding Bitcoin - December 16th, 2018
- Richard Branson: Future of Work Is “Three and Even Four Day Weekends” - December 16th, 2018
- Experts: United States Should Build a Prototype Fusion Power Plant - December 16th, 2018
- MIT Figured out a Way to Shrink Objects to Nanoscale - December 16th, 2018
- For the First Time, a Startup Grew a Steak in a Lab - December 16th, 2018
- McDonald’s Exec: “We’re Keeping Our Eye” on Meatless Burgers - December 16th, 2018
- SpaceX Smashed the Record for Commercial Space Launches This Year - December 16th, 2018