The period after the Civil War saw everyday people struggling to deal with the immense losses in both human lives and the economy the strife had cost. A series of depressions beginning in 1873 and a fluctuating economy left starving people desperately trying to find jobs just to buy basic necessities, like food and shelter. The social hierarchy left a majority of the wealth collected within the top social class, with a vast majority of the American people living in poverty while a rich few benefitted from investing in the stock exchange. With many struggling to even get through with their lives, Americans needed someone to blame for their hardships. And their answer? They blamed the "feebleminded," "degenerates" and the "mentally diseased," or those who they felt didn't belong in society.
This dangerous viewpoint eventually lead to the "science" of eugenics, its central ideals surrounding their beliefs that certain undesirable traits, such as mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, were linked to one certain gene. The findings of gene scientist Gregor Mendel certainly helped fuel this theory, even though he had only worked with pea plants, organisms far less complicated than human beings. Those who supported eugenics believed that since all these traits were linked to a certain gene, by tracking family lineages of those who possessed this gene, they could breed these genes out of their bloodlines and eventually eliminate it altogether.
The methods they took to eliminate genes were often to sterilize others who possessed the genes, making it impossible for them to breed and pass on their traits. This "science" was actually widely accepted and believed by the general public, who sought and found something (or someone) to blame for the economic and social hardships they had been put through. They blamed the "feebleminded" and "mentally diseased" for staining society with their undesirable traits, and by removing them from society, they believed that life would improve for the rest of society.
This belief carried on for over three decades, until Hitler and Nazi Germany used eugenics to justify their actions involving genocide of the Jews. However, as a "science" that was based mainly in assumptions and not the scientific process, it's widely discredited now. Instead of using gene research or other gene tracking software, they relied mostly on physical observations, using skull measurements, poor hygiene, and laziness as markers for "defective" people. However, during such a time of loss and economic instability, it's clear that the actual truth behind this "science" was secondary to the urge to find someone to blame for their hardships.
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holland/Social.htm
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holland/Science.htm
I did not know about the lengths of Eugenics, and I think you made a clear post about the true reasons behind it. It also is interesting that while most people think of Eugenics mainly during World War II and Hitler, eugenics actually stems from earlier time periods. Another article to check out is http://knowgenetics.org/history-of-eugenics/ as it explains other motives of eugenics as well, such as racism on top of just not being an ideal person in society.
ReplyDeleteThank you for exploring the idea of eugenics. After reading your post, I can definitely say I didn't know the complete full history and motives behind this topic. Comparing this to Nazi Germany was helpful as well as interesting to see how eugenics have truly been around for an expansive amount of the world's history. As for connecting to today, one should reflect on how far science, or rather what qualifies to be true science, has come. Science and what is just form a true battle in this situation.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting read because of the social and scientific advances and developments during the time of the civil war. It's also interesting to see how that branch of science was born and how it was accepted by people! This does make me wonder the quality of life of mentally disabled people pre civil war and how they may have been treated before this science emerged. I also liked how you connected it to future conflicts and how it was involved and misinterpreted.
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