Part 3/17:
Eugenics in American Policy and Pseudo-Science
Beginning in 1911, with New Jersey’s enactment of forced sterilization laws, eugenics gained substantial political influence. Governor Woodrow Wilson signed legislation that targeted "hopelessly defective" and "criminal" classes, inspired by the slogan "sterilization or racial disaster." Wisconsin followed suit in 1913, with influential academics—such as University of Wisconsin President Charles Van Hise and Progressive sociologist Edward A. Ross—supporting and supporting laws aimed at controlling reproductive rights. Ross famously declared his support for involuntary sterilization, asserting that objections to such policies were "sentimental" and that sterilization was less "terrible" than hanging innocent people.