Applied Eugenics

Applied Eugenics, by

Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson This eBook is for the use of
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Title: Applied Eugenics
Author: Paul Popenoe and Roswell Hill Johnson
Release Date: October 17, 2006 [EBook #19560]
Language: English
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EUGENICS ***

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APPLIED EUGENICS
BY

PAUL POPENOE
EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF HEREDITY (ORGAN OF THE
AMERICAN GENETIC ASSOCIATION), WASHINGTON, D. C.
AND
ROSWELL HILL JOHNSON PROFESSOR IN THE UNIVERSITY
OF PITTSBURG
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY NEW
YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS ATLANTA - SAN
FRANCISCO
MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. TORONTO
1918
All rights reserved
COPYRIGHT, 1918,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1918.

PREFACE
The science of eugenics consists of a foundation of biology and a
superstructure of sociology. Galton, its founder, emphasized both parts
in due proportion. Until recently, however, most sociologists have been
either indifferent or hostile to eugenics, and the science has been left
for the most part in the hands of biologists, who have naturally worked
most on the foundations and neglected the superstructure. Although we

are not disposed to minimize the importance of the biological part, we
think it desirable that the means of applying the biological principles
should be more carefully studied. The reader of this book will,
consequently, find only a summary explanation of the mechanism of
inheritance. Emphasis has rather been laid on the practical means by
which society may encourage the reproduction of superior persons and
discourage that of inferiors.
We assume that in general, a eugenically superior or desirable person
has, to a greater degree than the average, the germinal basis for the
following characteristics: to live past maturity, to reproduce adequately,
to live happily and to make contributions to the productivity, happiness,
and progress of society. It is desirable to discriminate as much as
possible between the possession of the germinal basis and the observed
achievement, since the latter consists of the former plus or minus
environmental influence. But where the amount of modification is too
obscure to be detected, it is advantageous to take the demonstrated
achievement as a tentative measure of the germinal basis. The problem
of eugenics is to make such legal, social and economic adjustments that
(1) a larger proportion of superior persons will have children than at
present, (2) that the average number of offspring of each superior
person will be greater than at present, (3) that the most inferior persons
will have no children, and finally that (4) other inferior persons will
have fewer children than now. The science of eugenics is still young
and much of its program must be tentative and subject to the test of
actual experiment. It is more important that the student acquire the
habit of looking at society from a biological as well as a sociological
point of view, than that he put his faith in the efficacy of any particular
mode of procedure.
The essential points of our eugenics program were laid down by
Professor Johnson in an article entitled "Human Evolution and its
Control" in the Popular Science Monthly for January, 1910.
Considerable parts of the material in the present book have appeared in
the Journal of Heredity. Helpful suggestions and criticism have been
received from several friends, in particular Sewall Wright and O. E.
Baker of the United States Department of Agriculture. PAUL

POPENOE.
WASHINGTON, June, 1918.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE v
INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD A. ROSS xi
CHAPTER
I.
NATURE OR NURTURE? 1
II. MODIFICATION OF THE GERM-PLASM 25
III. DIFFERENCES AMONG MEN 75
IV. THE INHERITANCE OF MENTAL CAPACITIES 84
V. THE LAWS OF HEREDITY 99
VI. NATURAL SELECTION 116
VII. ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE EUGENICS MOVEMENT
147
VIII. DESIRABILITY OF RESTRICTIVE EUGENICS 167
IX. THE DYSGENIC CLASSES 176
X. METHODS OF RESTRICTION 184
XI. THE IMPROVEMENT OF SEXUAL SELECTION 211

XII. INCREASING THE MARRIAGE RATE OF THE SUPERIOR
237
XIII. INCREASE OF THE BIRTH-RATE OF THE SUPERIOR 255
XIV. THE COLOR LINE 280
XV. IMMIGRATION 298
XVI. WAR 318
XVII. GENEALOGY AND EUGENICS 329
XVIII. THE EUGENIC ASPECT OF SOME SPECIFIC REFORMS
352 TAXATION 352 BACK TO THE FARM MOVEMENT 355
DEMOCRACY 360 SOCIALISM 362 CHILD LABOR 368
COMPULSORY EDUCATION 369 VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE
AND TRAINING 371 MINIMUM WAGE 374 MOTHER'S
PENSIONS