Eugenics Archives | National Humanities Center

Eugenics

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Demography and Degeneration: Eugenics and the Declining Birthrate in Twentieth-Century Britain

By Richard A. Soloway (NHC Fellow, 1986–87) Richard Soloway offers a compelling and authoritative study of the relationship of the eugenics movement to the dramatic decline in the birthrate and family size in twentieth-century Britain. Working in a tradition of hereditarian determinism which held fast to the premise that "like tends to beget like," eugenicists … Continued

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Eugenics on Trial: The Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt

Today, few Americans are aware of the country’s historic role in the eugenics movement. The campaigns of the early 20th-century that focused on coercive sterilization practices and marriage restrictions offer a disturbing portrait of a racist and regulatory culture. Bodily rights seemed completely overlooked in the name of eugenics, as fears about who should be … Continued