American eugenics

The article describes a troubled history of eugenics in the US, from its beginnings at the end of the 19th century, through the whole of the 20th. It is a part of a larger historical study on eugenics. It focuses on Davenport, Laughlin, Estabrook and the Eugenic Record Office, on the early racist eu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Darko Polsek
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Society for the Advancement of Philosophy 2002-12-01
Series:Prolegomena
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.hrstud.hr/prolegomena/Pro-2002-2/Pro-2002-2-Clanci-Polsek.pdf
Description
Summary:The article describes a troubled history of eugenics in the US, from its beginnings at the end of the 19th century, through the whole of the 20th. It is a part of a larger historical study on eugenics. It focuses on Davenport, Laughlin, Estabrook and the Eugenic Record Office, on the early racist eugenicists like Grant and Ross, and on sterilization legislation in the twenties and thirties. The intention however was to put the historical debate into a contemporary context, or at least to show that some eugenic ideas have lived long after everybody thought they were dead. There are some hints and quotations that show it might still be possible to misuse sterilisation in the US today.
ISSN:1333-4395
1846-0593