Exhibit on the sense of elegance in fur feeling, Third International Eugenics Conference, 1932.

The Eugenics Movement

Genetic choices may offer a world of new possibilities for our children. But a look back at the eugenics movement, popular roughly a century ago, reveals some dangers.

Throughout the early 20th century, eugenics supporters in England, Germany, and the United States sought "human improvement" by encouraging "desirable" traits. To stop the progression of perceived inadequacies, eugenicists prohibited certain groups—people deemed retarded, insane, or sexually promiscuous—from having children. In this country, 33 states passed laws leading to the involuntary sterilization of more than 60,000 Americans through the mid-1970s.

Eugenicists at universities and other institutions across the nation, including some at this Museum, validated their efforts through a misguided use of basic genetics. Brain-size measurements, for example, revealed "normal" and "criminal" minds. Eugenics research also fueled anti-immigrant sentiment. Flawed intelligence tests—given to potential immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in the 1920s—certified thousands of people as "dimwitted." As a result, those immigrants were either institutionalized or blocked from entering the United States.