Eugenics Societies and Their Influence

The rise of Eugenics in the United States saw its ideas being incorporated into every facet of life. To promote the overall acceptance of these ideas, societies and organizations based around Eugenic ideas were founded. This section will attempt to highlight some of these organizations and societies while exploring policies enacted or championed by them.

American Breeders Association (ABA)

• Founded in 1903 by agricultural scientists
  1. members included commercial breeders, professors at agricultural colleges, and researchers at the US Department of Agriculture
• Section on Eugenics founded in 1906 in order to promote a better selection of marriage mates and the control of the reproduction of the defective classes. It had a two fold responsibility:
  1. Eugenics Records Office work
  2. Committee work
     • This area consisted of five sub-committees that were based on certain eugenic ideas including feeble-mindedness, insanity, epilepsy, criminality, and deafmutism
     • These committees were to serve as local centers for collection of data and education and were to exist in connection with universities and other intellectual centers

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The American Eugenics Movement