Buzz
During the early 1900s, eugenics gained widespread popularity as a progressive concept, promoting the voluntary effort to create 'ideal' or 'nearly perfect' offspring. Women were tasked with the mission of bearing exceptional children, while men began advocating for birth control. Although eugenics later became linked to Hitler's vision of a dominant Aryan race, it initially attracted global interest and participation.
10. The Race to Create Super Babies
As eugenics grew in prominence, women eagerly sought to give birth to the next generation of superior children. These offspring were expected to excel not only in intelligence but also in moral integrity and physical perfection.
The Sociological Fund of the Medical Review of Reviews offered a $1,000 reward to the parents of the first completely flawless baby, with $500 awarded to the parents of the second. Medical experts and scientists claimed that the only way to achieve such perfection was through the union of an ideal man and woman.
Interestingly, the responsibility and liberty to produce flawless children fell heavily on women. As the contest organizer remarked, 'I believe a woman’s selection of a father for her children should be entirely unrestricted.'
9. The Less Wealthy, The More Desirable
While eugenics was a hot topic among the elite, US newspapers highlighted that it was the impoverished who were birthing 'perfect' children. One article noted, 'Wealthy individuals have spent years theorizing about eugenics, and academics have studied it extensively, but in the slums, they’ve been putting it into practice.' The reasoning was that affluent families could afford to raise unruly or unhealthy children, whereas the poor viewed eugenics as a form of financial necessity, as they could not afford to have troublesome or ailing offspring.
Despite their emphasis on 'scientific marriages' to create superior children, the wealthy were reportedly lagging behind the less privileged in achieving genetic excellence.
8. State Fair Baby Contest
We’re all accustomed to seeing animals evaluated at state and county fairs, but in 1913, during the height of the eugenics movement, babies were also assessed based on their physical attributes.
A Salem, Oregon, newspaper published the state fair’s schedule, which featured a 9:00 AM 'Eugenics and Child Welfare Exposition' in the eugenics building. Here, infants were inspected until 4:00 PM, followed by a lecture on the societal significance of eugenics.
Additional attractions included sheep herding with skilled dogs, vaudeville performances, beekeeping displays, and horse races. On the final day, prizes were awarded to the infants who triumphed in the eugenics competition.
7. Eugenics Legislation
Surprisingly, numerous women advocated for legislation regulating marriage and reproduction through eugenics. While it may seem extreme, these women were deeply committed to the concept of advancing a 'superior' human race.
Dr. Anna Blount, one such advocate, proposed that eugenics laws should center on marriage. She insisted that couples undergo health evaluations 15 days before their wedding to ensure they were fit to procreate. Dr. Mary Neff, on the other hand, emphasized education, arguing that college men were often 'diseased' and that shielding young, educated men from societal vices was key to achieving true eugenics. Another woman suggested banning individuals with 'constitutional weaknesses' from marrying altogether.
6. The Five Thousand a Year Club
Young women also joined the eugenics movement, with one group in Los Angeles, California, focusing on a single criterion for reproduction. Known as the Five Thousand a Year Club, they vowed to only associate with men earning at least $5,000 annually.
Their logic was that a financially successful man likely possessed the ideal genetic traits for creating exceptional children. After all, someone with flaws couldn’t possibly excel in the business world, could they?
5. Selective Reproduction
In the early 1900s, Australian newspapers were filled with discussions on eugenics, focusing on halting societal decline and avoiding 'racial suicide.' Many argued for replacing natural selection with intentional mate selection, encouraging people to choose partners who would yield high-quality offspring.
While US studies highlighted that lower-class families were producing superior children, Australians were concerned that the upper class wasn’t reproducing sufficiently. 'Statistics reveal that the more capable segments of society have smaller families compared to those of degenerates,' they noted.
One article emphasized that 'criminal families have an average birth rate of 6.6 children per household,' whereas affluent families in New South Wales averaged only 3.3. To enhance the human population, they proposed preventing 'the reproduction of the unfit.'
4. Male Advocacy for Birth Control
The eugenics movement inspired men to publicly endorse birth control. A notable demonstration occurred in New York City in the fall of 1915, where men marched through Fifth Avenue and Wall Street, holding signs to express their backing for both birth control and eugenics.
Their placards were blunt, reflecting the prevailing attitudes of the era:
Alcohol is essential for my survival. Should I pass this dependency on to others?
Would prisons and asylums remain empty if people like me didn’t have children?
I can’t even read this sign. What gives me the right to have offspring?
I am a burden to myself and society. Should I be permitted to reproduce?
3. Sterilizing the ‘Mentally Deficient’
By the 1930s, the discourse around eugenics began to shift toward a more apologetic tone. An Australian newspaper raised questions about how intelligence could be measured to decide who should be allowed to reproduce. With widespread disagreement on the criteria for breeding eligibility, eugenics became entangled in the complex intersection of science and ethics.
However, this ambiguity did not apply to those labeled as 'mentally defective.' As one report asserted, 'The only compelling argument made is for the sterilization of the mentally defective.' Forced sterilization of individuals with mental disabilities persists globally today, remaining a significant practice within eugenics.
2. Eugenics Registries
While some opposed the notion of breeding humans like animals, others enthusiastically supported it, leading to the creation of registries for parents to enroll their 'superior' children. The goal of these registries was 'to achieve for humanity the same remarkable improvements and advancements that have been realized in livestock breeding.'
'Perfect' babies were not only celebrated in newspapers but were sometimes betrothed as infants. This practice aimed to cultivate an ideal human population, eradicating crime and mental illness from the world.
1. Eliminate the ‘Wild Oats’
Beyond 'perfect' babies, many adults also claimed to be 'perfect.' One such individual, Miss Susan Myrick, took extreme measures like sleeping outdoors for fresh air and climbing trees for exercise to achieve her 'perfect woman' status. Her philosophy mirrored modern health enthusiasts, emphasizing the importance of maintaining peak physical condition.
In a 1916 newspaper interview, Miss Myrick declared, 'Once women insist on registering their children as certified stock, men will stop sowing wild oats! Applying eugenics principles will lead to the ultimate salvation of humanity!'
She was convinced that just four generations were needed to develop a 'perfect' human race. Her solution was a law requiring couples to pass rigorous tests proving their physical and mental fitness before marrying and having children. 'Without intervention, the human race is destined for extinction,' she warned.
