A Century of Eugenics in America: From the Indiana Experiment to the Human Genome Era

In 1907, Indiana passed the world's first involuntary sterilization law based on the theory of eugenics. In time, more than 30 states and a dozen foreign countries followed suit. Although the Indiana statute was later declared unconstitutional, other laws restricting immigration and regulating marriage on eugenic grounds were still in effect in the U.S. as late as the 1970s. A Century of Eugenics in America assesses the history of eugenics in the United States and its status in the age of the Human Genome Project. The essays explore the early support of compulsory sterilization by doctors and legislators; the implementation of eugenic schemes in Indiana, Georgia, California, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Alabama; the legal and social challenges to sterilization; and the prospects for a eugenics movement basing its claims on modern genetic science.

Author: Paul A. Lombardo
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 01/06/2011
Pages: 268
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780253222695

Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2011

About the Author

Paul A. Lombardo is Professor of Law at Georgia State University College of Law. He is author of Three Generations, No Imbeciles: Eugenics, the Supreme Court, and Buck v. Bell.