Primary Sources: Eugenics: Women, Marriage & Family
The idea of improving a human population through controlled breeding, forced sterilization, etc. in order to make certain desired characteristics appear.
As the first module in the Women's Studies Archive, Issues and Identities traces the path of women's issues from past to present—pulling primary sources from manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, and more. It captures the foundation of women's movements, struggles and triumphs, and provides researchers with valuable insights, focusing on the social, political, and professional achievements of women throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. Along with providing a closer look at some of the pioneers of women's movements, this collection offers scholars a deep dive into the issues that have affected women and the many contributions they have made to society.Issues and Identities spans multiple geographic regions, providing a variety of perspectives on women's experiences and cultural impact. Within the archive can be found fascinating historical records from Europe, North and South America, Africa, India, East Asia, and the Pacific Rim with content in English, French, German, and Dutch.For scholars and amateur researchers alike, a rich history of women's experiences in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries awaits within Issues and Identities.
Heiress Says She Was Duped Into Sterilization So Parent Could Get Income. ASKS $500,000 DAMAGES San Francisco Surgeons Defend Act on Ground That the Girl Was Feeble-Minded.
"
Phyllis Marian Greer, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dorcey Greer, 2004 West Morris St., Indianapolis, being weighed in and measured as part of the 1930 Better Babies Contest at the Indiana State Fair."
"This episode features a conversation with Connie Uri, M.D. and Marie Sanchez . Sanchez is Chief Judge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. She is a mother of nine and is on the National Board of Research on the Plutonium Economy and the advisory board of NASC, the Native American Solidarity Committee. She is also a member of the International Treaty Council. Dr. Uri is a physician and is currently attending law school. She is a Chocktaw Cherokee. She supported the struggle at both Wounded Knee and Alcatraz. She is a member of the Indian Women United for Social Justice."
"When one considers the strong contribution of agricultural breeding to the eugenics movement, it is not difficult to see why eugenicists used state fairs as a venue for popular education. A majority of Americans were still living in rural areas during the first several decades of the 20th century, and fairs were major cultural events. Farmers brought their products of selective breeding — fat pigs, speedy horses, and large pumpkins — to the fair to be judged. Why not judge "human stock" to select the most eugenically fit family?
This was exactly the concept behind Fitter Families for Future Firesides — known simply as Fitter Families Contests. The contests were founded by Mary T. Watts and Florence Brown Sherbon — two pioneers of the Baby Health Examination movement, which sprang from a "Better Baby" contest at the 1911 Iowa State Fair and spread to 40 states before World War I. The first Fitter Family Contest was held at the Kansas State Free Fair in 1920. With support from the American Eugenics Society's Committee on Popular Education, the contests were held at numerous fairs throughout the United States during the 1920s."
"...is a core electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines. Titles published between 1850 and 1950 were selected and ranked by teams of scholars for their great historical importance. The first phase of this project focused on books published between 1850 and 1925 and a small number of journals. Future phases of the project will include books published between 1926 and 1950, as well as additional journals. The full text of these materials, as well as bibliographies and essays on the wide array of subjects relating to Home Economics, are all freely accessible on this site. This is the first time a collection of this scale and scope has been made available." Cornell University
"The feminist and socialist writer and social theorist Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) was one of the most important - and radical - social commentators of her day."
"This episode features a conversation with Antonia Hernandez and Claudia Dreifus. Antonia Hernandez is an attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Social Justice. Claudia Dreifus is a journalist who has written for such publications as The Progressive, The Nation, McCalls, Rolling Stone, and others. She was recently awarded a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism to write on the issue of forced sterilization."
Book Sources: Women, Marriage & Family
A selection of books/e-books available in Trible Library.
Click the title for location and availability information.
Suggested terms to look for include - diary, diaries, letters, papers, documents, documentary or correspondence.
Combine these these terms with the event or person you are researching. (example: civil war diary)
Also search by subject for specific people and events, then scan the titles for those keywords or others such as memoirs, autobiography, report, or personal narratives.