The Historical Context of Eugenics

Eugenics emerged as a prominent belief system in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly among white elites in the United States. This pseudoscientific ideology aimed to improve the genetic quality of the human population by preventing those deemed inferior from reproducing. Influential institutions, such as the Carnegie Institute, supported this movement by establishing the Eugenics Records Office, which advocated for sterilization laws. These efforts culminated in various states, including Virginia, enacting sterilization statutes that would later lead to the infamous Buck v. Bell case.