In 1921, the Second International Congress on Eugenics was hosted in New York at the American Museum of Natural History. There, they showcased 131 exhibits about eugenics to highlight its interdisciplinary nature. The topics ranged from intelligence testing, population change, criminality, miscegenation, racial difference in chromosomes, and heritable musical ability. The Congress allowed leading eugenicists from around the world to share ideas and strengthen their case for eugenics.
A major takeaway from the Congress was that the U.S. needed a more organized, unified eugenics movement. To this end, U.S. delegate Irving Fisher, an economics professor at Yale University, created the Eugenics Committee of the United States of America, which became the American Eugenics Society in 1926. The AES established itself at 185 Church Street, in New Haven, Connecticut. The stated goal of the Society was to promote “the study and discovery of sound eugenic principles of all matters in any way related thereto and to make practical application of such principles to the improvement of the human race.” They aspired to be a powerful national society that would advocate for eugenic research, legislation, and education across the country. To do this, they would organize Fitter Family Contests, Eugenic Sermon Contests, and lectures on eugenics.
With the rise of the American Eugenics Society, more publications and pamphlets began to circulate and inspire eugenic education, mobilization, and legislation. The AES Committee on Selective Immigration greatly supported the Immigration Act of 1924, which instituted a national origins quota that restricted visa allocation to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality in the U.S. as of the 1890 census. In doing so, it created a highly restrictive and discriminatory process that barred Asian immigrants from entering the U.S. The AES organized against any threat to the restrictive immigration policies set in 1924, particularly in 1926 and 1930. They advocated for an overseas medical inspection of all potential immigrants to protect the “quality” of American stock that they believed immigrants threatened.
With the establishment of eugenic organizations like the American Eugenics Society, eugenics began to integrate itself into institutions like state and federal governmental agencies. Namely, many states began to establish a Board of Eugenics, or a similar body, within their Departments of Public Health or “Mental Hygiene.” With this, eugenicists could facilitate the implementation of eugenic policies, such as compulsory sterilization. In 1924, eugenics found a more centralized home in the university at Yale’s Institute of Psychology. At this point, eugenics began to build Yale into the research university that we know it as today.
In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Buck v. Bell that compulsory sterilization of “defectives” is legal, as it allegedly prevented a burden to the individual and society. In an 8 to 1 decision, the Court ruled that since “heredity plays an important part in the transmission of insanity [and] imbecility” this would be “for the best interests of the patients and of society.” Chief Justice Holmes, who wrote the opinion for Buck v. Bell, infamously ended the opinion by stating that “three generations of imbeciles are enough.”
