Reflections on a Century: The Legacy of the American Eugenics Society

The American Eugenics Society (AES) marked its 100th anniversary recently, prompting reflection on its complex and controversial history. Founded in 1926, the AES aimed to promote eugenics, a movement focused on improving human populations through controlled breeding. Over the past century, the society's legacy has sparked debate, raising questions about ethics, science, and social impact.

Origins and Goals of the American Eugenics Society

The AES was established during a time when eugenics gained popularity in the United States and Europe. Its founders believed that selective breeding could reduce hereditary diseases and improve societal health. The society promoted policies such as sterilization laws and marriage restrictions aimed at limiting reproduction among those deemed "unfit."

Key goals included:

• Encouraging reproduction among people with "desirable" traits

• Reducing the birth rate of individuals with physical or mental disabilities

• Influencing public policy through education and advocacy

  
  

These ideas were widely accepted by some scientists and policymakers in the early 20th century, reflecting the era’s limited understanding of genetics and social biases.

Impact and Controversies

The AES influenced laws in several states that authorized forced sterilizations, affecting tens of thousands of people. These policies disproportionately targeted marginalized groups, including people of color, immigrants, and those with disabilities. The society’s work contributed to a legacy of discrimination and human rights abuses.

By the mid-20th century, the horrors of Nazi Germany’s racial policies, which drew on eugenic ideas, led to a sharp decline in support for eugenics. The AES shifted its focus toward genetics education and public health but never fully escaped its controversial past.

Lessons from the Past and Ethical Reflections

The centennial of the AES offers an opportunity to learn from history. It highlights the dangers of applying scientific ideas without ethical oversight or respect for human rights. Modern genetics has advanced far beyond the simplistic and harmful notions promoted by early eugenics advocates.

Today, bioethics emphasizes:

• Informed consent

• Respect for individual autonomy

• Avoidance of discrimination based on genetics

  
  

These principles help prevent the repetition of past mistakes and guide responsible use of genetic science.

Moving Forward with Awareness

Understanding the American Eugenics Society’s history is crucial for recognizing how science can be misused when divorced from ethical considerations. It reminds us to critically examine policies that affect human lives and to prioritize dignity and equality.

As society continues to explore genetics and biotechnology, the lessons from the AES’s century-long legacy serve as a warning and a guide. By acknowledging this history, we can work toward a future that respects diversity and human rights.

Some Important Dates Along the AES Timeline

• 1926 – The American Eugenics Society sponsored Fitter Families contests at state fairs, beginning with Kansas, where competitors submitted an "Abridged Record of Family Traits," and teams of medical doctors performed psychological and physical exams on family members. Every member of the family was given an overall letter grade of eugenic health, and the family scoring highest was awarded a silver trophy. (See above photo)

• 1936 – In a memorandum to the Family Betterment Council, AES member George Reid Andrews set the tone for future engagements between the organization and leading public institutions. It said, in part, “Unless we mix biological science with our altruistic sentiments, we are in fair way of swamping the country with a socially inadequate people beyond our power to care for them.” Family Betterment Council, Memorandum prepared by George Reid Andrews, January 30, 1936.

• 1946 - On July 25, 1946, Paul Popenoe, a eugenicist and author of Applied Eugenics, wrote to Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, head of the Institute for Anthropology, Human Heredity and Eugenics, "It was indeed a pleasure to hear from you again. I have been very anxious about my colleagues in Germany…. I suppose sterilization has been discontinued in Germany?" The correspondence made clear the global eugenics community was very much alive and thriving, even at the close of World War II and the end of Adolf Hitler’s reign.

• 1956- Frederick Osborn of the American Eugenics Society pens “Galton and the Mid-Century Eugenic” for the Eugenics Review and bridges national hereditarian theories of character and fitness across racial lines. He wrote: “Since eugenics is not concerned with reducing the birth rate as a whole, a sound process of purely genetic selection would have to reach into every socio-economic and every racial group to seek out the genetically valuable individuals and attempt to increase their rate of births, concurrently with the attempt to reduce births among the less valuable.”

• The American Eugenics Society held an international symposium on Differentiation in Current Mating and Fertility Trends” held February 14, 1959, in New York City. The day-long conference brought together a panel of European and American experts in the fields of clinical and population genetics, psychiatry, and demography.

• 1966 – Statement of Eugenic Position of AES by its Board of Directors, including Gordon Allen and Bruce Wallace, that lauded its involvement in the expansion of eugenics into medical schools and foundations, through its support from the National Institutes of Health. It stated, in part:

Psychologists, sociologists, and demographers are now showing interest in the study of the economic, social, institutional, and psychological factors which in the United States influence the size of families. Such studies are essential to finding out how social conditions might be modified, not only to bring about voluntary changes in the general birth rate, but also to bring about discriminating differentials in births as between individual couples of different genetic constitutions.

View The Acumen Group Talk: The American Eugenics Society... 100 Years Later