Eugenics

The basis of eugenics during the Progressive Era in the United States can be argued as a strictly a moral issue, a violation to the United States Constitution, or a combination of both. The ambiguity behind the social philosophy known as eugenics adds to the criticism of controlled reproductions, while ignoring the beneficial aspects it has to offer society as a whole.  Although the practice of eugenics is often seen and argued to be nefarious, the laws written in the Constitution of the United States do not specifically condemn eugenics, as essentially, it is an issue of morality and therefore is moot under the United States Constitution.

The nature of social philosophy is that it is ambiguous and is therefore interpreted in many different ways. Claiming that eugenics is unconstitutional is essentially unconstitutional, as stated in the First Amendment. “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech… and to petition the Government for redress of grievances.” By being able to amend the laws of the country, the people of the United States have the power to eliminate the imperfections of the country they live in. As some consider certain traits to be flaws, eliminating the possibility of future generations of imperfections through eugenics will only better the population. “…Many defective persons who if now discharged would become a menace but if incapable of procreating might be discharged with safety and become self supporting with benefit to themselves and to society.” The connections between generations of “feeble-minded” are illustrated in the case of Buck v. Bell.  “…Experience has shown that heredity plays an important part in the transmission of insanity, imbecility, etc…” By eradicating the possibility of such ailments, “without serious pain or substantial danger to life”, the American population is benefited.

            In applying Darwin’s theory of evolution, survival of the fittest and natural selection, eugenics and the methodology involved in eugenics are closely associated. The practice of controlled breeding through birth control only extends the practice of natural selection to a human level. Under this practice, people who are unfit to bear and raise children are limited from doing so, as the impaired animals in the wild would not survive long enough to procreate. This restores the American population to the privileged nation it once was, as American was founded and governed by a small group of elite. Madison Grant expresses that “true aristocracy is government by the wisest and best, always a small minority in any population.” Instead, “universal suffrage tends toward the selection of the average man for public office rather than the man qualified by birth, education and integrity. How this scheme of administration will ultimately…cause a corresponding loss of efficiency in the community as a whole.”