Primary Resources
Archives
“LBJ Library & Museum/.” http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
After Regionals, we decided to try and find President Johnson’s recorded speech upon
signing the Immigration and Nationalities Act of 1965. Our teacher recommended that we try the
president’s memorial center in Texas. We corresponded with a librarian there, who burned us a
CD copy of the speech. We used Johnson’s speech to portray the ideas of the 1960s, and support
the fact that eugenics as a basis for the quota system was abolished.
Articles
Note: The Eugenical News was an opinion journal published by The American
Eugenics Society, while Eugenics was a scientific journal about genetics. Members of the
Eugenics Society collaboratively wrote Eugenical News. The Society included Madison
Grant, Henry Fairfield Osborn, Charles B. Davenport and Harry Hamilton Laughlin.
Eugenics was a widely known magazine, published by the Eugenics Society, with pieces
from eugenicists, biologists, and anthropologists. It published data from tests made on
“feebles,” and immigrants. After 1924, there were fewer articles about immigration and more
about sterilization.
"1890 Census Urged as Immigrant Base: Eugenics Committee Report, Announced by Prof.
Fisher, Would Limit South Europeans." New York Times 06 Jan 1924
When the Johnson – Reed immigration bill was proposed in Congress, the 1890 Census
data was urged as a basis for the act to further restrict immigration. Many middle class whites
felt that immigration rates were becoming too high, and the numbers made them uneasy. Using
the 1890 census would drastically decrease immigration rates. The ideas in this article helped
construct the argument in our debate.
"60,000 Immigrants Wait." New York Times February 28 1924: 4
This newspaper article describes the numbers of Polish and Jewish people that were
waiting at the American Consulate in Warsaw, hoping for an American visa. The article says that
under the new law. 60,000 people would be able to immigrate to America. Those immigrants
would then fill Poland’s immigration quota for the following two years, not allowing any
additional immigration from Poland.
"A New Immigration Bill." New York Times 24 Aug 1919: 33
This article describes a new bill to restrict immigration after the failure of literacy tests in
the Immigration Act of 1917. To do so in this new immigration bill, the 1910 Census data was
proposed as the basis, limiting immigration to 3 % of the immigrant country’s population in
America. This article was extremely helpful with providing the different perspectives on
immigration restriction.
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"Admitting Aliens." New York Times Jul 6, 1954.
This article had information on how the quota system began not working, leading to the
abolishment of the National Origins quota system. This article wrote that many people thought it
was unfair that immigrants were separated from their families as a result of the quota system.
Many people thought that the Refugee Relief act of 1953 was still not letting enough people into
the country. This article was helpful to us because it shows how the National Origins system was
continuously gaining opposition leading to the abolishment.
"Attacking the 1890 Quotas." New York Times February 16 1924: 16
Many New York Democratic representatives advocated for the use of more recent and
data collected in the year 1920. This article also debated some of the discriminatory aspects of
the 1890 census data and the argument that held that older immigrants were favored over the
newer and “less desirable” immigrant population, because they were considered fitter.
"Bill to Admit Aliens Offered." New York Times 4 Apr 1952: 12.
Representative Emanuel Celler proposed a bill which, if passed, would allow more
Europeans into America over a period of three years. Celler’s attempts to end the Nation Origins
quota system built up to when President Lyndon B Johnson signs the bill abolishing it. This
article was helpful to us because it showed some of the earlier attempts by Celler to end the
National Origins system.
Bogory, Natalie de. "Ellis Island through Russian Eyes." Outlook 20 Dec 1922: 701-3
This article provided many hand drawn photos of the different Southern and Eastern
Europeans that came to Ellis Island. The photos were very expressive, as they displayed the
different types of immigrants and defined their characteristics. We used many of these images as
photos for our documentary.
"Bonded Aliens." Eugenical News. 1.3 (1916): 14
Writers for Eugenical News were very upset with how America was still letting
immigrants whom they thought were defective into the country. America was still letting in
immigrants under bond in 1916. The bonds were designed to make immigrants show up at their
immigration court hearing. Many of the immigrants released into America did not show up for
their court dates and were, therefore, not deported. The Eugenical News thought that the method
of admitting “defective” persons into America under bond was a heinous crime against the
progress and ideals that eugenics had built up until 1916.
Buffus, H.L. "Psuedo-Scientists Making a Muddle of Human Affairs." New York Times. 25
Oct 1925.
The opinion expressed in this article was interesting. At the time, there were so many
people who supported eugenics that to read someone’s opinion who opposed the goal of eugenics
was surprising. Buffus wrote extensively about the values in human life. The article assisted in
our analyzing the other side of the debate.
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Burr, Clinton Stoddard. "American Racial Problems." New York Times 07 Jan 1923: BR14
Burr wrote of the problems concerning race in America, and spoke about the different
approaches to controlling race in America. He felt that the idea of science being applied to
human genetics was good, but that forced sterilization and degradation of the, “inferior,” race
was not the right decision. Like the article from Buffus, it was extremely helpful in our analyzing
the arguments of those who were against eugenics ideas.
"Calls Quota Law Cruel." New York Times January 27 1924: E8
In this newspaper article Congressman Emanuel Celler gives his opinions on the loss of
immigration that would result from the Immigration Act of 1924. Celler concludes that because
of the immigration quotas and the continual deportation, the United States did not receive a
single male over the age of sixteen in the first fiscal year of the new law. Celler stated also, “The
present quota is ridiculous, since it deprives us of many excellent and lets in many despicable
aliens. It must give way to a law that will let in only the excellent and utterly keep out the
undesirable. This article reinforced our description of the debate because of Celler’s strong
opposition to the immigration restriction laws of 1924.
"Celler Asks Advice On German Relief." New York Times December 3 1923: 3
This article gave us some background information concerning Emanuel Celler. Celler,
being a Jew, was activly and strongly against the suffering and starvation of Jews in Germany in
1923. Celler wrote articles hoping to gain attention from the public in order to lend a hand to
offer relief to the German Jews. Celler wanted to help the Jews by raising funds to send overseas. He did not want any suffering and he requested, from the public in New York, input,
advice, and help on the matter.
"Changing Immigration Quotas." New York Times January 4 1927: 22
This article gave information about the results of the 1924 immigration restriction act. In
1917, the immigration quota was set at 150,000 per year to be distributed among various
countries. The purpose of this quota, according to this article, was to base the percentage not on
the foreign born alone, but on the total number of persons that were in the country at the time
that were attributed to the various racial origins. This article was very helpful in supporting our
knowledge of the national origins system.
"The Chinese and Their Critics." New York Times 30 Aug 1885: 10
Workers felt that the Chinese were increasing job competition in America. They
criticized the Chinese lifestyles and appearance, along with the fact that many of them could not
speak English. The ideas in this article helped to give a feel of racism at the time, and taught us
that discrimination was highly normal at the time.
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Colt, LeBaron B. "Shall We Substitute 5% of 1890 Census for 3% of 1910 Census as Quota
Basis?." Congressional Digest Jul/Aug 1923: 303
Pennsylvanian Senator David A. Reed and Americans who favored immigration
restriction felt strongly that the Immigration Act of 1921 was not strong enough. The 1921 Act
restricited immigration to 3% of the 1910 census, still allowing at least 356,000 immigrants a
year. Many people wanted the bill to substite that 3% to 5% of the 1890 Census instead of the
1910 Census data. However, Rhode Island Senator LeBaron B. Colt argued that using the 1890
Census data, which wasn’t fair since it was 30 years old and would enforce unjust
discrimination. This article provided a sense of an early debate in the immigration restriction
debate regarding the use of eugenics and ethnic and racial stereotypes.
Crawford, Remsen. "$1,000,000 Profit on the Melting Pot ." Collier's 5 Jan 1924: 16
This article had information on the profits made at Ellis Island. They charged the
immigrants eight dollars to come to the country. Many immigrants had trouble paying this fee,
especially those who left their country for better opportunities in the United States. This article
stated that in 1923 alone, the profit was over a million dollars. The author wanted some of the
profit to be used for the immigrants’ benefit. He suggested that the conditions be improved and
immigrants should be able to have a better chance starting in America.
"Current Immigration." Eugenical News. 3.12 (1918): 91
This article had statistics on which nationalities’ immigration were declining in 1918.
The English and the South Italians, who were previously in the lead when it came to immigrant
population in the United States in 1916, dropped all the way to second and seventh place on the
list. The Mexican immigration population moved up to first place with (in order) the English, the
Japanese, the Scandinavian, the Spanish, the Black African, and the South Italians following.
Davis, James J. "The Story of the Year in Immigration." Eugenics. 2.1 (1929): 3-5
Davis provides statistics of the number of immigrants from Italy, Greece, and Southern
European countries. He noted that the quota helped to decide who could come and who had to go
back. It was also interesting to us because he provided statistics saying that the Greece and Italy
sent more female immigrants than males, because a lot of them were mail-order brides for
Americans.
Deparle, Jason. "The Anti-immigration Crusader." New York Times (2011)
This article had information about John Tanton, who was largely involved with the
drafting of the Arizona Anti-Immigration bill. Tanton founded the Federation for American
Immigration Reform organization, which is an organization which is strongly against
immigration. Tanton’s arguments are very similar to those made by eugenicists in the 20th
century. This article was very helpful by giving us a connection between the arguments back
then and the arguments today. This article helps us pinpoint our long-tem effect.
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"Eugenics Congress Opens Here Today: Scientists of Many Nations to Attend Sessions at
the American Museum; Osborn to Give Address." New York Times (1932): 15. Web. 18 Feb
2011
This article captured bits of information from the Third National Congress of Eugenics at
American Museum of Natural History. Henry Fairfield Osborn, Leonard Darwin, and Charles
Davenport spoke of the ideas of eugenics and presented different philosophical components of
Sir Francis Galton’s theories on eugenics. Many people spoke of immigration control; they
encouraged birth control and sterilization for those who were thought unfit to reproduce; they
advocated for the reproduction of the fittest, and of the basics of human heredity. This article was
a significant help to us, because it was able to give us information about the different beliefs of
eugenicist leaders.
"Feebleminded." Time 9 Jun 1924: 19
After the passing of the 1924 Immigration bill, articles on immigration dropped and more
on sterilization were beginning to be published. Many eugenicists believed that since
immigration had been restricted and would stop the growing number of new immigrants, that the
next step in “Americanizing,” immigrants would be to sterilize them so that they could not
reproduce and bring “polluted,” children into the earth to further the unAmericanization of
America. This article played a large role in writing our consequences.
Fenton, John F. "Edward Kennedy Hits "Brain Drain"." New York Times 10 Dec 1966: 16
A year after the Immigration Bill of 1965 was passed, some representatives, such as
Edward Kennedy, realized that immigrating to America was still hard. Many talented and skilled
people from Europe and Asia did not easily fly into America, and Kennedy called that ‘brain
drain,” declaring that those who were still against immigration were blind to the talents that
immigrants had to offer to America.
Fuller, Raymond G. "Intelligence of Our Immigrants." New York Times 18 Mar 1923:
BR18
Fuller reflected on the many tests given to immigrants, mostly Southern and Eastern
Europeans, upon entering the United States earlier in the 1900s. These tests included literacy
tests and health examinations. Many of the tests indicated that these immigrants were not as
smart as the Northern and Western Europeans. However, Northern and Western Europeans
already knew English. This article was helpful in constructing our debate, where we used these
examples to explain the basis of tests and research from eugenicists.
"Future Immigration." Eugenical News. 3.12 (1918): 91
Eugenical News made predictions on the future of immigration in America. They
predicted that Europe would restrict much more of the emigration from European countries to
America. They also predicted that the taxes would largely increase. There were also predictions
that “real money” would become very scarce as the years went on due to the large population
because of all the immigration.
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"Galton Society: Immigration and Crime." Eugenical News. 15.1 (1930): 5-6
This article had some information on the thoughts of Professor Henry Pratt Fairchild. He
said, in part, that there was a very common impression that the immigrant population of the
United States was largely responsible for the crime in America. He also said that the crime
waves that were present in the 1920s were traceable to the more recent types of immigrants. The
more recent types of immigrants, according to Professor Fairchild, were very different sorts of
immigrants than that of earlier immigration years.
"German Emigration, 1922." Eugenical News. 8.7 (1923): 69-70
In this article, the writer said there was a lot of knowledge on what was considered an
important factor in determining the destiny of a race. Above all was immigration, followed by
mate selection, differential fecundity, and differential survival (with particular reference to
reproduction). In addition to the information on the destiny of race, there was information on
how immigration should be viewed. It was an up and coming belief that immigration should be
viewed not as a short-time investment in productive labour, but as a long-time national
investment in family stocks. Therefore, it was thought that immigrants must be highly selected
not only on the basis of individual but, above all, the family-stock worth.
Gosney, E.S. "Eugenics in California." New York Times 08 Jan 1934
California was one of the states that had passed sterilization laws after the passage of the
Johnson – Reed immigration bill. California was responsible for the sterilization of 60,000
Americans, the highest in any other state. Many of the people who were sterilized were
considered mentally deficient – inferior, handicapped, or physical unable. This article was
helpful in our understanding of eugenics and its impact on America.
"The Great Nordic Race." Eugenical News. 2.2 (1917): 10-11
“The Great Nordic Race” had information on Madison Grant’s idea of which races were
superior. Grant had the idea that the Nordic race had superior physical and temperamental
qualities. He liked “long skulled, very tall, fair skinned, with blond or brown hair and light
colored eyes.” Grant went on to create several charts and maps of which European regions were
superior. The Scandinavians were thought to be a superior European by Grant, his idea of the
perfect Nordic.
"Hot Words in the Senate." New York Times 11 Sep 1888: 1.
In much of this article, senators were quoted in Congress, saying many degrading things
about the Chinese. At the time, the numbers of Chinese immigrants were high, and many white
Anglo-Saxons did not like that they were becoming numerous in America. The opinions in this
article were extremely helpful in developing a feel for the nativist ideas of the time period.
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"Immigration as Viewed by the Foreign Language Press." Congressional Digest Jul/Aug
1923: 316
Many people, especially in the Italian press who were immigrants or whose parents were
immigrants, argued that the measures to restrict immigration were once tolerated as an
expirement. However, now it is used to discriminate against immigrants, and it was unjust to the
idea of what America offered. Some people who were immigrants or whose parents were
immigrants from western and Northern immigrants argued that the idea of restricting
immigration from unwanted countries made sense, since they were generally less educated
anyways and could not benefit America. This article showed that there were arguments between
immigrants, along with discrimination towards each other.
“Immigration Bill Opposed in House.” New York Times 08 Dec 1920: 34
The many immigration bills proposed in the House of Representatives all had one
objective, which was to limit immigration. Many middle-class Americans supported immigration
restriction. However, there were many representatives from states with a large immigrant
population that opposed the ideas of restricting immigration; there were just never enough of
them to win the vote against the restrictive immigration bills. This article showed the unequal
balance of the immigration debate, and was helpful in analyzing the ideas of congressmen who
orchestrated the bills, and those who were against it.
"Immigrant Identification Cards." Eugenical News. 13.8 (1928): 111-12
This article on immigrant identification cards detailed information on what some of the
first identification cards or had on them and what they said on them. These cards were used to
identify the legal immigrants in America. Illegal immigrants did not have access to these
identification cards.
"Immigration: Senator Reed Replies." Eugenics. 2.6 (1929): 34
Reed thought the opposition to the National Origins Act was unjust, and would not help
to strengthen immigration. If the Origins Act were repealed, the “American stock,” would be,
“diluted,” because the law would not restrict immigration in any way. The rest of the article urges
readers who believe in the origins to reply to the questionnaire published in the journal.
"Immigration Bill Reported to House: Fourteen Members of Committee Back Proposals
Submitted by Chairman Johnson." New York Times 09 Feb 1924
The Johnson – Reed immigration bill was the most restrictive immigration bill proposed
and passed. At the time, many people opposed open immigration and argued for restrictive
policies to eliminate the number of immigrants and the rates of immigration from countries like
Italy and Russia. This article showed the lack of serious controversy.
"Intelligence and Immigration." Eugenical News. 12.9 (1927): 120-121
“Intelligence and Immigration” showed the alleged link between intelligence and heredity
in nature. It was thought that intelligence was your mental capacity and that mental capacity was
essentially heredity in nature. Therefore intelligence was hereditary. In addition to the link
between immigration and heredity, this article had information on the Beta Test. The Beta Test
was a set of mental tests designed to measure the general intelligence of individuals unable to
read and write.
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"Japanese, Italians." Time 25 Feb 1924: 5
This article described the Immigration Bill of 1924, and furthered detailed into the
restriction of the Japanese. Many senators and congressmen were concerned with the restriction
of the Japanese, believing that it would violate the Gentlemen’s Agreement between the United
States and Japan. It helped to develop the different opinions of our debate.
Johnson, R.H. "Evolution of Man and Its Control." Popular Science Monthly Jan 1910: 4970.
As immigration began to increase even after the first restrictive immigration law was
passed in 1882, many people were beginning to fear the large number of immigrants coming to
America. Many of them felt that the need to restrict them based on their ability was required in
order to control the population of America. Since many people from Southern and Eastern
Europe weren’t as educated as the Northern and Western Europeans, the literacy tests were to be
used to further restrict immigration. This article was crucial in understanding the strings of
immigration restriction laws, and it was helpful in understanding the earlier laws.
Johnson, Roswell H. "Eugenics and Immigration: Johnson Bill Favored Only as a Step
Forward." New York Times 12 Feb 1924
This letter to the editor showed the widespread acceptance of eugenics as an argument
against immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe. The contents of this article was
extremely helpful in processing our debate.
"Johnson Upholds Limit on Aliens." New York Times 02 Feb 1922: 14
As chair of the US Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, Johnson had power to
do many things involving immigration restriction. He largely controlled the debate on
immigration in the 20s. His committee supported his actions as chair. His decision to support the
immigration quota system was highly important in the passage of the immigration bill. This
article helped to show the power and control of Johnson, detailing his influence upon the
members of the Committee.
Jordan, David Starr. "Should Present Restriction Laws Be Modified?" Congressional
Digest Jul/Aug 1923: 304
US Senator James A. Reed from Missouri was against immigration restriction of
immigrants because he feared that America was eliminating “good people who were intelligent,”
because of the fear of losing population. He argued that it was unfair, and contradicted America’s
offering of the American dream. Us Senator Wesley L. Jones from Washington favored
immigration restriction, especially from Southern and Eastern Europeans because he believed
that the number of immigrants would “stupify,” America’s genes. This article was also helpful in
our understanding of the different immigration restriction debates.
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"Keep America "White!"" Current Opinion 1 Apr 1923: 399
After successfully passing the Immigration Act of 1921 and restricting immigration to 3%
of the 1910 census data instead of the 1920 Census, immigration was limited to 356,000 per year.
Many Americans agreed that the bill did decrease immigration, but that a much more stricter bill
was needed in order to “keep America white.” They feared still that immigrants would reproduce
darker, stupid people, and that the only way to ignore that was to keep them out of the country.
This article was a helpful summary of the opinions of Americans and senators and congressmen
favoring stricter immigration restriction laws.
Kellogg, Vernon. "The "Nordics" and The Rest." New Republic 8 Aug 1923: 278
This article had some skepticism about the superiority of the Nordic race. Kellogg wrote
about how the general public was supporting eugenics though they didn’t completely understand
what it was and how it was to be used. This article also referenced a professor who published a
scientific article stating that there was no clear, definable difference between races. In addition,
Kellogg said that a popular slogan amongst Americans was, “nothing good south of 50” which
meant that the Southern Europeans were not as favorable as the Nordic races.
"Kennedy Proposes Series of Changes in Immigration Act." New York Times 23 Jul 1970:
13
As one of the main orchestraters of the Immigration Bill of 1965, Edward Kennedy
proposed a series of changes to the bill. He argued for the “low wages and long hours,” to change
among Mexican immigrants, and that immigration be restored to its original idea of reuniting
families. This article further described the support for immigration in the late 1900s.
Kinnicutt, Francis H. "Immigration in Congress." Eugenics. 2.1 (1929): 27-28
Kinnicutt’s article explained the purpose of the Immigration Act of 1924, but noted that
the actual Act did not go into effect just yet, but would come to effect in July. He also noted that
because there was no present Census data to support the Act, it was postponed until later notice.
Many wives and children of present immigrants were allowed to come to America due to the fact
that they already had a place to settle in to. However, many immigration restriction leaders were
against that, and against the fact that many German immigrants were admitted into the country.
Something that sparked our interest was the fact that many leaders wanted the act to put
restrictions on the Spanish-American countries. This article helped us to understand the problems
of immigration, resulting from the Act in 1924 and the Jenkins Bill.
Kinnicutt, Francis H. "Immigration: The Short Session." Eugenics. 2.4 (1929): 37
Of all of the bills introduced in Congress to strengthen immigration restriction, only one
was passed. Senator Blease introduced a bill making it against the law for any immigrant with a
criminal record to enter America. However, not too soon after that, another bill was passed,
allowing the entrance of illegal immigrants if the time for deporting has elapsed. These bills,
many leaders thought, were also de-strengthening the immigration laws. Many leaders who
supported immigration restriction thought that because the law would permit illegal immigrants
into the country, they would receive the right to vote. Because this article outlined the beliefs of
many leaders, it made it easier for us to articulate a debate.
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Kinnicutt, Francis H. "Immigration: A Supreme Court Decision." Eugenics. 2.5 (1929): 33
Kinnicutt wrote that the lower court of Supreme Court had now set law allowing people
from different countries to enter the United States for employment for a temporary time period.
Kinnicutt points out that immigrants from Europe, who went to Canada, would have a higher
chance of getting into America because the law had weakened its power. There was also
information on some of the senators who were against the National Origins Movement. These
people included Representative John Quillen Tilson, who voted against the 1890 quota basis and
the Immigration Act of 1924; Senator Nye, who proposed a resolution against the Act; and
Senator Walsh who introduced another repeal against the Act.
Kinnicutt, Francis H. "Immigration: National Origins." Eugenics. 2.8 (1929): 37-38
In this article, Kinnicutt presents two different tables supporting the National Origins
clause. He states that the course of the National Origins was not based on racial origins, because
he thinks that no country is racially homogenous. The tables show the amount of “colonial
stock,” each immigrant has. The data this article provided helped us to understand why the
Natural Origins quota system was established.
"Literacy Test for Voters and Immigrants." Eugenical News. 2.4 (1917): 29
The Literacy Test for Voters and Immigrants was a requirement set by the Immigration
Restriction league to limit some of the immigration flow into America. In 1917 Congress
overrode the veto of President Wilson. The literacy test consisted of requirements that
immigrants know how to read at least thirty English words. They also had to be able to speak
eighty English words. The literacy test did not greatly reduce the immigration from Europe
despite its intent.
Laughlin, Harry H. "The Progress of American Eugenics." Eugenics. 2.2 (1929): 2-16
Laughlin, who was a strong supporter of eugenics himself, introduced the article with the
fact that eugenics was first introduced by the theories of Charles Darwin, and further adopted by
Sir Francis Galton who reintroduced the idea that was later used by Charles B. Davenport.
Davenport was a pioneer in eugenics, establishing the Eugenics Record Office. Laughlin noted
that eugenics was growing more popular, helping us identify his strong belief in its success and
giving us information on other eugenics related events.
Miller, H.A. "Psychological Limits on Eugenics." Popular Science Monthly Apr 1914: 390-6
As eugenics was growing extremely popular among the middle class, the urge to restrict
immigration and force sterilization was growing also. Because of the fear that immigrants would
overrule the American population, the reproduction of White Anglo-Saxon Protestants was
highly recommended. Miller believed that the depths of which many were willing to go in order
to sustain a whiter population was overboard. He argued that immigrants were people, and that
people didn’t deserve to be treated as animals or “Mongrels.’ This article described the other side
of the debate, and was helpful in our section of the debate.
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Mohr, Charles. "President Asks Ending of Quotas for Immigrants." New York Times 13 Jan
1965
President Lyndon Johnson advocated that the National Origins quota system be
abolished, and proposed that the new law should not be racially unjust. This change would
eliminate the waiting lists from different countries that had been piling many years since the
1920s. This article was helpful in seeing the different proposals of immigration legislation in the
1960s.
"Nazi Eugenics Policy Devised to Offset Increase of Slavs." New York Times 11 Mar 1934:
XX9
The ideas of eugenics had quickly reached Germany after its success in America, and the
sterilization models of America and from Harry Laughlin were extremely influential on Hitler.
The ideas led to Hitler’s forced sterilization laws that were designed to eliminate the population
of inferior people, in a sense to racially purify the country. Among the people who were
victimized were Jews, Slavs, mentally disabled and handicapped, and homosexuals. The ideas in
this article were extremely helpful in the writing of the successes and failures of eugenics as
science.
"The New Immigration Law." Eugenical News. 2.3 (1917): 22-23
This article contained information on the 1917 New Immigration Bill that was passed
containing the Literacy Test. The house vote on the new bill was 285 to 106 and in the senate the
vote was 62 to 19. The new law came into effect on May 1st, 1917. The law also contained in the
literacy test the information they needed for the exclusion of those deemed socially inadequate idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded, epileptic, insane, paupers, criminals, and those with contagious
disease, those teaching or advocating anarchy, and those imported for immoral purposes.
"New Yorkers Fight Immigration Bill As Racially Unfair." New York Times February 25
1924: 1
This article was helpful because gave an idea of how many people were against the use of
the 1890 census data. Many New York Democrats strongly wanted the use of the 1920 census
data. New York Democrats were also against the fact that the new immigration and naturalization
bill favored the Nordic races and discriminated against many other races trying to come to
America. They saw this as racially unfair. In addition to the information on the new bill, this
article also had information on Gottlieb. Gottlieb was the manager for the New York office of
immigration, which claimed to send representatives abroad in order to advise prospective
immigrants.
Newman, Louis I. "Immigrants and the New America." Eugenics. 2.1 (1929): 10
Newman argued in this article that the strongest motive for immigration restriction is
based on the belief that the swarm of immigrants and the life of immigrant children would
displace the current American ways, and the culture would not be able to stay alive. He disagreed
with this idea, and said that though they were against it, there was really no way to end
immigration and their numbers because so many had already settled and the seeds were planted.
Newman’s article was helpful because it provided an argument against immigration restriction,
and tried to persuade all people to adapt to immigrants.
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"Notes and News." Eugenical News. 18.6 (1933): 136
These notes on the articles gave information on who started the Immigration Restriction
League. Robert DeCourcy Ward was the official founder of the League. In 1933, Ward sent
letters to the members of the Immigration Restriction League bringing attention to immigration
going on simultaneously with the depression. The letters stated that anyone who thought that
immigration should be carefully controlled, on eugenic grounds, should ally himself or herself
with the Immigration Restriction League.
Osborn, Henry Fairfield. ""Lo, the Poor Nordic!” Professor Osborn's Position on the
Immigration Question." New York Times 20 Mar 1924
Osborn was a prominent eugenicist, who wrote of the, “poor Nordic,” races, whom he felt
were victims of the increased rates of Southern and Eastern Europeans because they were being
overpopulated. Since these Nordic races were not reproducing fast enough, the Southern and
Eastern Europeans were growing dramatically. Osborn proposed that eugenics ideas be
implemented in the restriction of immigrants in order to replenish the Nordic races in America. It
was an interesting article to read, since the ideas were mainly opinions, and not data. However,
he does indicate that most of his conclusions were made from other eugenics data.
"Personal Factors on Immigration: Should They Get More Attention?" Eugenics. 2.7
(1929): 18
This article consisted of the perspectives from Adamantios Th. Polyzides and John A.
Ryan. Polyzides thought that the Act of 1924 handled the restriction immigration policy well, but
the task left to handle was the quality of the immigrants arriving. Many came with disabilities
and without the knowledge of English. He suggested different ways in which quality could be
handled. This helped us by the defining the on-going goal of eugenic leaders in America.
Phillips, Cabel. "Deadlock Ended on Immigration." New York Times 13 July 1965: 13
After forty years, President Lyndon Johnson asked that the National Origins quota system
be abolished to allow more immigrants into America. Congressmen such as Emanuel Celler and
Michael Feighan were critical in the change, declaring that the quota be abolished wholly, over
five years, to gradually allow more immigrants into America. With this argument, they also
argued that immigration be allowed to reunite families who had been apart due to their inability
to immigrate.
Phillips, Cabell. "House Approves Bill for Reform of Immigration." New York Times
(1965): 25 Aug 1965.
This article was written about the vote in Congress, which would abolish the National
Origins quota system. This article stated that the system would end over the following three
years. The end of the system would allow more immigrants into America without limitation
based on quotas. This article was helpful to us, because it wrote about the end of the National
Origins system, which was aided to our short-term effect.
12
"Prolific." Time 24 Mar 1924: 5
There were many congressman and senators that supported the Immigration bill. This
article described the opinions of the supporters, claiming that the support of this bill made the
proposed quota system successful. This article shows the wide support of immigration
restriction in Congress.
"Race Suicide and Race Stamina." Literary Digest 18 Oct 1913: 676
Eugenics proposed the sterilization of those who were considered unfit. Many Americans
pushed for sterilization unsuccessfully and the depths to which they were willing to go angered
those who were against eugenics and immigration restriction. The author argued that the
proposed ideas of eugenics was “race suicide,” and that it would only encourage “race stamina,”
that is that by killing of the races of the Southern and Eastern Europeans, it would only result in
the supposed betterment of existing American races, making them think that they were better
than other races. The ideas of the author were interesting and was helpful to the processing of our
debate.
“Says Congress Was Unfair." New York Times 02 Jul 1924: 21
In this letter to the New York Times, the unidentified writer spoke against the basis of the
Immigration Bill of 1924, saying that the Congress was unfair to the immigrant population since
they used older data to construct immigration restriction policies. Knowing that much of the
American population supported eugenics and the bill, it was surprising to find that this writer of
this article was against the idea of both. This article spoke of the American dream, arguing that
every man deserved to live the dream. It was helpful to our understanding of the other side of the
immigration debate.
"Scandinavian Immigrants." Eugenical News. 1.5 (1916): 31
This article was useful in the way that it gave us information on the ancestry of many
important families. It stated that because the Scandinavians bred among other races and cultures
freely, almost every “important” family had traces of Scandinavian blood. These families had
one or more “infusions” of Scandinavian blood in their ancestry. Most of the Scandinavian blood
was of the early New York Dutch ancestry.
"Shall We Turn Them Back to Their Persecutors?." Outlook 27 Dec 1922
Many people questioned the rate of immigration and wanted restriction on immigration.
However, many people questioned if it was fair. They argued that many immigrants came to
America for political freedom and a better life, and to just send them back would put them in
crisis; exposing them to danger. The author also argued that not all immigrants were bad. For
example, those of New York brought a hint of diversity and different cultures that were valued.
This article supported immigration and was helpful in our debate.
Sherwood, Herbert Francis. "Wanted - A Policy for New Americans." Outlook 25 Jul 1923
After the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, many Americans and
congressmen still desired a stronger restriction bill. The Act of 1921 had decreased immigration
to 356,00 people; this was still too much. Sherwood argued that a new strict policy was needed.
This article displayed the desires of restrictionists, and helped us understand the strong
advocation for immigration restriction.
13
"Social Decadence." North American Review May 1913: 629-39
“Social Decadence,” described the diversity of Americn populations, and talked about the
urge to restrict even more immigrants after the Chinese were successfully restricted earlier in
1882. The author argued that restricting immigration to keep America white, was unjust and that
the desire to further restrict darker immigratns from Southern and Eastern Europe would result in
the universal decay of people. This article brought out a very interesting opinion, especially for at
this time. It helped process our debate better, and provided different opinions among American
society.
Speranza, Gino. "Where Americanization Gets Rubbed Off." Outlook 06 Sep 1922
Speranza didn’t support or oppose immigration. Instead he was more interested in the
Americanization of immigrants and argued that the promise of the American dream was false. He
claimed that many new immigrants had found a home and food to eat, but what was most
important – education and an occupation – was not made available. Immigrants had to fend for
those things themselves, and being unfamiliar with the English language made it unfair.
Speranza’s perspective helped us to develop our ideas of immigrants, and helped us to
understand the Americanization debate.
"Studies on Races in America." Eugenical News. 1.2 (1916): 5
This article states that in 1910, the German population in the United States was larger
than the English and every other single foreign stock in the United States. This article also gave
statistics on the percent of Germans that had immigrated to the United States. The German
population had contributed more than 25% of the entire last two generations of immigrants.
Thorndike, L. "Eugenics with Special Reference to Intellect and Character." Popular
Science Monthly. Aug 1913: 125-38
After the many eugenics tests given to different types of new and old immigrants,
scientists began to believe that eugenics could be enforced to better the people of the world,
whether immigrant or not, through sterilization and the encouragement of reproduction among
“smart,” people. Thorndike helped us to realize the beliefs of eugenics and its “ability,” to better
the world.
"Two Per Cent." Time 21 Apr 1924: 4
This article describes the Immigration Bill of 1924. The author expresses the idea that the
bill would restrict immigration according to the desires of immigration restrictionists. “Two Per
Cent,” was helpful in our understanding of the 1924 Immigration bill.
"Upholds Operating on Feeble Minded." New York Times 3 May 1927
After the passing of the Immigration Bill of 1924, a series of sterilization laws were
passed in many states. These laws allowed the sterilization of the state’s “unfit,” which took
away their reproduction rights. Virginia was the first state to pass a successful sterilization law,
which authorized Carrie Buck to be the first person sterilized.
14
Ward, Robert DeC. "Immigration." Eugenics. 1.1 (1928): 37
In this article Ward spoke of, in his article, Alfred Smith. Smith was the governor of New
York at the time. Smith was very against the use of the 1890 census for immigration restriction in
1924. Smith provided a statement saying that he was against the data and said that he would
prefer a much more recent set of data. This article helped to define the objectives of the
immigration restrictionists.
Ward, Robert DeC. "Immigration." Eugenics. 1.2 (1928): 30
Ward’s article described the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924 and the priorities
recommended to be added to immigrants admitted into the America. It gave us an idea of the
requirements needed in order to be a US citizen. The article helped us to identify the race factor
in the Act, and how it was unjust to immigrants who were new to America and English.
Ward, Robert DeC. "Immigration: Peon." Eugenics. 1.3 (1928): 37
The author spoke of the fact that the Immigration Act of 1924 did not put any restrictions
on Mexicans, whom he called “bootleggers,” and, “wet backs,” because they crossed the border
illegally and swam across the Rio Grande. Ward criticized the living style of the Mexicans and
compared them to slaves, stating that the South now has another race problem similar to the
problems that occurred when slaves were imported from Africa. He also suggests that the Act
extends its requirements to Mexico. The ideas in this article helped us to define the problem with
race, and its role in eugenics.
Ward, Robert DeC. "Immigration: The American Policy." Eugenics. 2.2 (1929): 35
The idea in this article strikes us as interesting, for Ward described the process of
allowing immigrants into America as “un-American.” He noted that allowing them in the first
place was the mistake of America, and that eugenics played a large role in restricting America’s
immigrant numbers because the people and the country have a right to choose who they want.
Ward also wrote that the race factor had been a part of America ever since the presidency of
Washington. This article helped us with the idea of race. It clearly identified race as a strong
motive for immigration restriction.
Ward, Robert DeC. "Immigration: Conference." Eugenics. 2.3 (1929): 33
On the 28th of November 1928, a conference discussing immigration restriction was held.
There was a vote over whether or not to make immigration restriction permanent. The votes
made at this conference led to laws made to strengthen restriction to immigration. This article
was helpful to us because it helped to identify some of the objectives of the immigration
restriction leaders and it also provided the additional source from Edward R. Lewis.
Ward, R.D. "National Eugenics in Relation to Immigration." North American Review Jul
1910: 56-67
US Representative Albert Johnson had appointed two prominent eugenicists to testify for
the Immigration bill of 1924, using data from the tests that they ran on newer and older
immigrants. This article helped to understand the strong role of eugenics in the immigration
debate of 1924.
15
"When Eugenicists Disagree." Literary Digest 13 Dec 1913: 1168-9
Charles B. Davenport was part of the Galton Society in the early 1900s, but as a
biologist, his ideas began to differ from geneticists, leading him to develop the Eugenics Record
Office, which sparked a disagreement among different eugenics organizations. Davenport
adopted Mendel’s theory, claiming that “feeblemindedness,” was a genetic trait, and parents who
possessed the feebleminded trait would pass it on through reproduction. The Galton Society
disagreed, and responded saying that his ideas were untrue to Galton’s original theory. This
article helped to understand the differences among the eugenics and immigration debate.
Whitney, Leon F. "Immigration from Another Angle." Eugenics. 2.3 (1929): 11-16
This article talked about the superior races and how the Immigration Act of 1924 limited
the number of immigrants and had stricter criteria on whom to allow into the country. It also had
some statistics on who or what races were in the country in 1927 and had different opinions on
who should be allowed into the country on different bases. They believed that there were specific
races that were easier to Americanize. They also talked about the “Mongrels” and how they were
inferior. This article helped us by clarifying how the inferior races were not let into America
through unfair and unequal judgments.
Whitney, Parkhurst. "Picking and Choosing Americans." Collier's 07 Jul 1923: 6
As a result of the first immigration restriction laws in the early 1900s, many Americans
became extremely picky about which type of immigrants to allow into the United States.
Eugenics had spread the idea that Southern and Eastern Europeans were generally less educated
and darker, making them inferior because of their likely criminal background. Thus immigration
restriction grew, aimed toward those who were from Southern and Eastern Europe. America
wanted to keep America whiter and more educated. This article helped us realize the different
beliefs of Americans and immigrants at the time.
"Would Increased Immigration Benefit Business?." Congressional Digest Jul/Aug 1923:
323
Judge Elbert H. Gary, chairman of the United States Steel Corporation argued that
restrictions on immigration for immigrants who were coming to America for jobs, which was
most of the immigrants, should be enforced because the increased number of immigrants
emplyed were raising costs for materials needed for construction and various jobs requiring
materials to build. He argued that immigrants were generally less educated than the average
American man, and did not know what they were doing. However, a New England merchant
named Edward Filene argued that because of the lack of Americanization among immigrants,
restriction of discrimination towards new immigratns looking for jobs was unjust because
Americans did not put effort into bettering them. This was an example of the an earlier laborimmigration debate where eugenics tactics were applied.
16
Books
Celler, Emanuel. You Never Leave Brooklyn. New York, N.Y.: The John Day Company,
1953.
This book, written by Emanuel Celler, was, in part, about the 1924 immigration act.
Celler wrote about how the act was passed because people were afraid and full of hate towards
the immigrants. Celler wrote about what exactly the quota system entailed and how it affected
immigrants coming from certain countries. The book also mentioned how the National Origins
system was made in favor of the Nordic races, and how they were thought to be superior to the
other immigrant groups. This book was extremely helpful to us because it gave us insight on
Celler’s thoughts and opinions regarding the passage of the act.
Grant, Madison. The Passing of The Great Race. New York, NY. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
1916.
Many professors that we interviewed recommended Grant’s book. It was extremely
helpful in providing data to aid us in our research regarding the racial theories of immigration
restriction and eugenics that were adopted by many prominent leaders in the US and throughout
Europe. The charts in the book were particularly interesting. He also spoke of the differences in
the European races. His extreme racial views were helpful in aiding our debate and strengthening
our argument.
Kelliicott, William E. The Social Direction of Human Evolution. New York, NY: D.
Appleton and Company, 1911.
This book by Kellicott had information on Mendelian heredity. It also had some
information on marriage restrictions. It was helpful in explaining how the marriage restrictions
applied to the “imbeciles and feebleminded,’ and also had some data on the numbers of people in
institutions and almshouses according to Charles Davenport.
Lehane, Joseph. The Morality of American Civil Legislation Concerning Eugenical
Sterilization. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of American Press, INC, 1944.
Lehane's book gave us information about the California laws regarding the asexualization
of inmates in state hospitals and the Californian homes for the feebleminded children and of
convicts in the state prisons. Lehane offers multiple examples of situations for which a person
would be involuntarily sterilized. He also gives statistics about the birthrate of the feebleminded.
National Industrial Conference Board, The Immigration Problem in the United
States. New York, NY: National Industrial Conference Board, 1923.
“The National Industrial Conference Board” gave us information about the Per Centum
Act of 1921, which aimed to restrict immigration by only allowing for three percent of the total
number of foreign-born from each country resident in the U.S. as shown by the 1910 U.S.
census. This book also had statistics on how many immigrants from various countries were
coming into America from 1820-1880. In addition, this book gave some information on
deportation, saying that for every five Poles that entered America between 1908 and 1923, two
were deported.
17
Pearl, Ramond. The Present Status of Eugenics. Minneapolis, MN: The Sociological Press,
1928.
Pearl gave us information on Plato’s early thoughts and wonderings about the inborn
quality of races. Pearl also offered some examples of Mendelian theories and application to
eugenics. This book presented ideas about the laws of heredity and how they can be applied to
the improvement of human kind.
Pearson, Karl. Eugenics Lecture Series: National Life from the Standpoint of Science. 3rd ed.
XI. London, NE: Cambridge University Press.
Pearson discussed the different lectures eugenicists gave, and compiled all of the
information he understood from them to write this. Genetics played a very large role in the
Eugenics movement and it greatly influenced the key decisions of the better breeding era. By
adopting genetics and having it as a basis of eugenics, scientists then were able to breed
selectively, animals and humans. This small book helped us understand the impact of the science
genetics on eugenics theory.
Proceedings of the First National Conference on Race Betterment. / Edited by Secretary.
Battle Creek, MI: Race Betterment Foundation, 1914.
This publication, discussed how the idea of breeding for better people began with the idea
of breeding for better animals. We learned that the interest in applying genetics to humans came
from the success of breeding animals. Because many states lost funding for taking care of all the
feeble-minded, the idea was quickly picked up all around the country. This source was extremely
helpful in clarifying the origins of eugenics.
Riis, Jacob. The Battle with the Slum. 1st. Norwood, MA: The Macmillan Company, 1902.
There were a wide variety of pictures in this book by Riis, and his perspective on
immigration was extremely interesting to us. Riis took pictures of the slums of cities where
immigrants resided and used it to expose their living style in a positive way. He notes that
although at first his perspective was to close the gates, the image in a photograph was able to
change his mind. Riis thought that immigrants were absolutely adaptable to American living, and
with education the immigrants could start a prosperous life. His viewpoint was critical to our
debate of immigration.
Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 1971.
The emotion and lifestyles captured in the photography of Riis were extremely influential
to the idea of America’s growing diversity and its opposition. This book consisted of many
photos, that were helpful in putting together of our project. It also spoke of Riis’ purpose, which
helped us to further understand one of the larger debates of immigrants and their locations.
Saleeby, C.W. Methods Of Race-Regeneration. New York, NY: Moffat, Yard and Company,
1911.
In this book Saleeby presented the positive and negative methods of race-regeneration.
He showed what and how positive eugenics was used for race-betterment. He also showed what
and how the negative eugenics was used for race-purification. Saleeby gave information on his
personal feelings about positive and negative eugenics. This book also details of the marriage
laws of several states.
18
Websites
“2009 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.”
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/yearbook/2009/ois_yb_2009.pdf
We used this website for immigration statistics in the years 1890, 1910, and 1920. The
information given from this website was extremely helpful in analyzing the difference in
immigration. It was helpful to our project because it supported our research, and allowed us to
create graphs with the data given.
“American Memory from The Library of Congress.”
“http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
This website was helpful to us because it gave us information on a brochure made in
support of eugenics. This website also had an article written by Alexander Graham Bell, who
wrote about “Race Suicide” as a result of bad immigration. In addition, this website had a list of
eugenical sterilization effects in California. Overall, this website has contributed to our project
through its articles and its brochure that it offered to us.
“John Tanton." http://www.johntanton.org/
This website provided photos of Tanton and many articles that described his beliefs.
Many of these articles were written responses from Tanton on articles written about him,
displaying his ideas that the human population should be controlled by eugenics and those who
had “good,” genes should be encouraged to reproduce.
“U.S. Census Bureau.”
http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0029/tab04.html
We used the immigration data from the census website for our graph. We also used the
data to reinforce our statistics and the articles we used in our documentary. This website was
helpful because it helped us to analyze the difference in immigration after each immigration
restriction act. This data helped our project by reinforcing our other sources and by giving us a
clear view on the effect the restriction acts had on immigration.
19
Secondary Sources
Articles
Satel, Sally. "A Better Breed of American: Eugenics Policies in the United States led to the
Sterilization of 65,000 people." New York Times 26 Feb 2006: G6
This article by Satel gave us information on what the 1924 immigration act did and how
it led to Nazi Germany. This article also has information on how Harry Laughlin was influential
in the passing of the 1924 act and the passage of sterilization laws in America.
Wohlforth, Charles. "Conservation and Eugenics." Orion. July/August 2010
This article was what sparked our interest in eugenics. Wohlforth wrote of the relation
between conservation and eugenics, beginning his article with an introduction of Theodore
Roosevelt giving a speech on the advantages of conservation. He spoke of the idea to implement
parks to create a reservoir for natural resources and fragile ecosystems. He then introduced
Gifford Pinchot, who wrote Roosevelt’s speeches and the similarity between his ideas and
eugenics. This article related the ideas between conservation and eugenics and threaded the ideas
together through the late 1900s when eugenics was discredited. Wohlforth’s article helped us to
chose our topic, and lead us to many sources that further introduced the idea.
Books
Black, Edwin. War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master
Race. New York, NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003.
Black describes several people who were active and concerned with the large numbers of
immigrants in the country in the 1920s. Black also details information about Congressman Albert
Johnson, who was an active eugenicist who believed that any immigration was too much
immigration. This book also described the influence Albert Johnson had, because of his position,
and all the people that followed and supported him.
Brantlinger, Ellen. Sterilization of People with Mental Disabilities: Issues, Perspectives, and
Cases. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995.
Brantlinger described the many different violations of the rights of the mentally retarded.
She helped to clarify the procedures done on these people, described conditions in which they
were forced to live because they were labeled “feeble,” and brought up many different cases in
which people with mental disabilities were sterilized. Cases that were described in detail were
the Buck vs. Bell, and procedures done on the Kallikak family. Brantlinger helped us develop a
number of new ideas about the possibilities of the immigration debate and its aftermath.
20
Broberg, Gunner, and Nils Roll-Hansen. Eugenics and the Welfare State. East Lansing, MI:
Michigan State University Press, 1996.
In this book, Broberg and Roll-Hansen give information on the very first person (Harry
Sharp) to carry out eugenic sterilizations. They described the many cases of eugenic and
compulsory sterilizations of prison inmates and the mentally retarded. Broberg and Roll-Hansen
also explain how the Nordic race was thought to be superior.
Brown, JoAnne. The Definition of a Profession: The Authority of Metaphor in the History of
Intelligence Testing, 1890-1930. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Many scientists, such as Herbert H. Goddard, believed that psychology was the same
thing as science. Because knowledge was thought to be found in a gene, Goddard felt that after
many tests of measuring minds, it could be fixed by ideas such as sterilization to ignore the
reproduction of the stupid, and encouraging it for those who were smart. Intelligence tests were a
part of eugenics ideology, and were implemented in the 1917 Immigration Act to reduce the
number of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe into America. Brown’s book was
extremely helpful in our understanding the role of intelligence testing among immigrants.
Carlson, Elof Axel. The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea. Cold Springs Harbor, NY: Cold
Springs Harbor Laboratory Press, 2001.
Carlson's book gave us a timeline of how the idea of eugenics developed and was applied
to the Nazi Germany ideals. Carlson also gives information on Madison Grant who was an
advocate for stricter immigration laws that would prevent the deterioration of the Nordic culture
and race. Carlson provided information about the people behind the immigration laws and the
Immigration Restriction League.
Gillette, Aaron. Eugenics and the Nature-Nurture Debate in the Twentieth Century. New
York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
Gillette discussed many different opinions of Darwinism, and the beliefs that followed
those opinions. Many eugenicists believed in the idea that environment affected the people
within them, and that the better the environment you grow in, the better you are. Many
eugenicists adopted these ideals. Improving the environment was a tactic largely adopted by the
“positive” eugenicist leaders, while the “negative” eugenicist leaders took to immigration
restriction and sterilization laws.
Gottlieb, Robert. Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental
Movement. Washington, DC: Island Press, 1993.
Gottlieb’s book helped us make sense of the intentions of the immigration acts. Gottlieb
said that some of the attempts of the leaders in the immigration act were to clean up the
population. This book also gave us information on the leader, Madison Grant. He told of how
some of the eugenicist leaders used some ideas from Sir Francis Galton to reinforce their ideals
and actions. Some of these actions were sterilizations and strictly restricting immigration.
21
Haller, Mark H. Eugenics. Rahway, NJ: Quinn & Boden Company, Inc., 1963.
Haller’s book Eugenics was helpful in contributing to the information we had on
eugenics. This book talked about asexualization, the Kallikak family, and the Eugenical News. It
also gave some information on which races were considered, by eugenicists, to be superior. The
Alpine and Nordic races were favored and praised by Madison Grant, Harry Laughlin, and
several other eugenicists. This book also described how Harry Laughlin was the editor of the
Eugenical News; it described how avidly racist and restrictionist most eugenicists were.
Hing, Bill Ong. Defining America through Immigration Policy. Philadelphia PA: Temple
University, 2004.
Hing described the many opinions among Americans about immigration in the early
1900s Many Americans feared the immigrants, holding the belief that they as Americans had the
rightful duty to “Keep America clean”. They also feared that the growing number of immigrants
would soon overpopulate America, and eliminate them. Racial and ethnic stereotyping was
widely accepted throughout American society because it was introduced as the science of
eugenics. Eugenics made it acceptable to stereotype immigrants because of the “data” from their
testing. Hing’s book was helpful to our research, and broadened our understanding of the
different beliefs of Americans.
Irving, Katrina. Immigrant Mothers: Narratives of Race and Maternity, 1890-1925. Chicago,
IL: Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, 2000.
Many immigrant mothers were against eugenics and the idea of not allowing people who
were thought to be carrying “bad” genes to reproduce and allowing only the fittest to do so.”
Many voiced their opinions even when they could not be read, and fought for the rights of an
individual to make choices. Irving was able to provide detailed opinions on different immigrants
and helped us to analyze the part of the eugenics movement that included immigrants and their
right to reproduce and raise a family according to their morals, not the eugenicists.
Kevles, Daniel J. In the Name of Eugenics. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1985.
Kevles’ book In the Name of Eugenics was useful because it had statistics on the numbers
of people sterilized from 1907-1928. It also gave information about how schools and colleges
began using intelligence tests for enrollment purposes. In addition to all of that, Kevles gave
examples of people who were against compulsory sterilizations.
Kraut, Alan M. Silent Travelers: Germs, Genes, and the “Immigrant Menace.” New York,
NY: Basic Books, 1994.
Kraut’s book Silent Travelers, gave us insight on the reasons for the health inspections
for the immigrants coming into America through Ellis Island. With that information came the
information about the concerns from the American citizens, putting America into a “xenophobic
mindset”. In addition, description of the tests the immigrants had to go through in order to enter
the country. Those who were “infected or defective” were kept inside a wire mesh, which
resembled an animal pen or a jail cell. We also learned that even certain facial expressions led
the examiners to believe some immigrants to be mentally deficient. This book was very helpful
in giving us information about the early immigration restriction tactics.
22
Krimsky, Sheldon, and Peter Shorett. Rights and Liberties in the Biotech Age. Lanham,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2005.
Krimsky and Shorett described the successes of genetic engineering through agriculture.
They also provided information about the genetic bill of rights, which says that all people have
the right to protection against eugenic measures such as forced sterilization or mandatory
screening aimed at aborting or manipulating selected embryos or fetuses. This book shows the
consequences and the result of the eugenics movement.
Kühl, Stefan. The Nazi Connection. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1994.
Kühl describes many connections between the Eugenicists in America and the
Eugenicists in Nazi Germany. There are also many references to Eugenical News showing how
much the American sterilization laws influenced the sterilization laws and euthanasia laws in
Nazi Germany. This book helped to clarify the influence America had on Germany through
many eugenicists like Charles Davenport, Madison Grant, and Harry Laughlin.
Largent, Mark A. Breeding Contempt: A History of Coerced Sterilization in the United
States. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008.
Largent’s book spoke of the history of forced sterilization in America. He also documents
that many sterilization laws were passed in part due to eugenical research from the Eugenics
Record Office, which was led by Charles B. Davenport and Harry H. Laughlin. He writes that
the movement didn’t end permanently until the later half of the 1900s. His book helped a lot with
our project because of the clarity of his research. The facts he provided on the laws of
sterilization helped us to define the goals of eugenicists after the success of immigration
restriction legislation.
Lee, Erika. At America's Gates. Tseng Information Systems, Inc, 2005. Print.
Lee’s book had information on the Bureau of Immigration’s written rules and regulations
that clearly stated that Chinese men were to be judged as “excludable until they could prove
otherwise.” Lee’s book also had information on the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which
excluded all Chinese immigrants.
Maranto, Gina. Quest for Perfection. New York, NY: Gina Maranto, 1996.
Maranto wrote about the American Fertility Society and their ideas of cloning and
donating eggs. This book also includes the Galtonian ideals of eugenics. Galton’s eugenics was
based on the idea that you should encourage fertility among the superior individuals or classes
and discourage fertility among inferior individuals or classes. Galtonian ideas were used
throughout the Eugenics Movement and were considered to be “good eugenics.”
Osborn, Frederick. Preface To Eugenics. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers, 1940.
This book gave information on how Sir Francis Galton came up with the term
“Eugenics.” Osborn’s book also gave information on what Darwinism is. It also showed how
social workers had a role in eugenics. The social workers could judge whether children had the
proper affection and care in their home.
23
Perea, Juan F. Immigrants Out! The New Nativism and the Anti-Immigrant Impulse in the
United States. New York, NY: New York University Press, 1997.
Many people from Madison Grant to John Tanton were extremely active in immigration
restriction. Some people were particularly fond of forcing compulsory sterilization upon people
of the other race, especially Polish Jews. At the time, there were swarms of immigrants coming
to America and these leaders felt that the immigrants “polluted,” the already existing, and
“superior” race. This book helped us to clarify the part the eugenicists’ leaders played in the antiimmigrant movement, and what they worked for to happen during the eugenics movement.
Pickens, Donald K. Eugenics & The Progressives. Nashville, TN: Parthenon Press, 1968.
Pickens explained the introduction of eugenics. It helped us to understand the initial
decision of why eugenics was launched and how the conservationist viewpoint was included in
the movement. We discovered that Sir Francis Galton was cousin of Charles Darwin. Galton was
a naturalist and a supported Darwin’s theory applied to humans. We also learned that there was a
difference in the types of eugenics, human heredity playing a large role in the effects of positive
and negative eugenics.
Reimers, David M. Unwelcome Strangers: American Identity and the Turn Against
Immigration. West Sussex NY: Columbia University Press, 1998.
Reimers began his book when the first immigration restriction laws were enacted. He
describes in detail the opinion of those who favored immigration restriction along with it’s
history among American society, such as the Ku Klux Klan, and provides background
information on the series of immigration laws in the early 1900s to the middle 1900s. One of the
most helpful chapters of this book was one on the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act. Reimers helped
us to understand that the Chinese were restricted because of the fear that they would
overpopulate America with their Chinatowns and cause increased job competition between
native-born Americans.
Rosen, Christine. Preaching Eugenics: Religious Leaders and the American Eugenics
Movement. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Rosen discussed the roles of the different leaders active in the Eugenics movement. There
His sections on Madison Grant, one of the most active eugenics leaders, helped us further
interpret his work and the outcome of all of the different ideas he supported. We were able to
identify Grant as one of the most important eugenicist leaders along with Charles Davenport and
Harry Laughlin.
Schrag, Peter. Not Fit for Our Society: Immigration and Nativism. Berkeley and Los
Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2010.
Schrag described the different activists involved in the Eugenics movement. We were
educated on the many different backgrounds of people in the movement and their activism in
eugenics, whether it was reducing immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, or sterilizing
“unfit,” people to reduce the number of “feeble,” children in America. It has helped us analyze
the leaders’ roles in the American eugenics movement.
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Smith, J. David, and K. Ray Nelson. The Sterilization of Carrie Buck. New Jersey: New
Horizon Press, 1989.
Smith and Nelson discussed in detail how Carrie Buck was seen as an “unfit” individual.
Carrie was an epileptic, and many eugenicists thought that anyone who had epilepsy should not
reproduce. This book also mentioned how Carrie was put into an institution for most of her life.
Dr. Harry Laughlin was one of the main eugenicists responsible for Carrie’s sterilization.
Stern, Alexandra Minna. Eugenic Nation: Faults and Frontiers of Better Breeding in
Modern America. Los Angeles, CA: The Regents of the University of California, 2005.
Stern mentioned in her book that the American Association for the Advancement of
Science and the National Education Association, were very concerned with “race betterment.”
Stern also discussed tricked or coerced sterilizations. There were cases in which women who
didn’t know how to read thought that they were signing up for Depo Provera birth control
injections but they were really signing up to be sterilized. Stern also had information on neoLamarckism and how it was popular among the idealist “Progressives,” but by the beginning of
World War II the emphasis was strictly on hereditarianism.
Wohlforth, Charles. The Fate of Nature. New York, NY: St. Martin's Print, 2010.
Wohlforth’s chapters about Madison Grant gave some insight on the thoughts and
attempts on restricting immigration were. This book was also helpful in identifying who was
involved in the eugenics movement. He also provided several different and useful sources for us
to use.
Zeidel, Robert F. Immigrants, Progressives, and Exclusion Politics: The Dillingham
Commission, 1900-1927. DeKalb IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 2004.
In an attempt for social betterment, Congress created the Dillingham Commission,
directed to make a “full inquiry, examination, and investigation into the subject of immigration.”
Zeidel also wrote of the many fears of Americans at the time, noting that many of them, in
particular, feared that they would be eliminated from the population as Americans because of the
sudden growth of immigrants coming from the Southern and Eastern Europe, along with China.
The Dillingham Commission was instrumental in deciding the Immigration Act of 1917 should
enforce literacy tests for immigrants to decide whether they should be allowed or not into
America. Zeidel’s book bettered our understanding on why the literacy tests were implemented
in the Immigration Act of 1917.
Zenderland, Leila. Measuring Minds: Henry Herbert Goddard and the Origins of American
Intelligence Testing. Cambridge UK: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge,
1998.
Herbert H. Goddard was the first American intelligence tester, beginning at Ellis Island in
1913. He provided data from the intelligence tests of immigrants at Ellis Island to Congress in
1914 on behalf of the literacy tests that was planned to be apart of the Immigration Act of 1917.
Zenderland’s book was also helpful in bettering our understanding of the use of literacy test, and
of the variety of eugenics supporters from anthropologists to rich, white men.
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Ziegler-McPherson, Christina A. Americanization in the States: Immigrant Social &
National Identity in the United States. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2009.
Ziegler-McPherson provided a short chapter on the debate between many leaders on
immigrants. She introduced two women from the New York Bureau of Industries and
Immigration in 1908 – 1914. Frances A. Kellor started the NYBII, where she attempted to
Americanize immigrants by offering opportunities in education, jobs, and housing. As she
attempted to further the movement into a national one, her successor Marian K. Clark took the
organization by a different direction. She was a strong supporter and believer of eugenics and
introducing the idea of eugenical restriction on immigrants. Clark consistently tried to partner
with Charles Davenport, but failed unsuccessfully. The chapter introduced a different perspective
on immigration and eugenics. It was interesting to us because of the role of the two women.
Interviews
Borello, Mark. Interview by Evie Harper-Godderz and Jennifer Mailee Lor. 26 Jan 2011.
Mark Borello is a Sciences of Ecology professor at the University of Minnesota. In our
interview, we asked Borello questions from the origins of eugenics to the long-term impacts of
eugenics. His answers were helpful to us, giving us information on the Mendel roots and the
links to Charles Darwin’s natural selection theory. He also answered questions related to
immigration, describing the activities of leaders such as David Starr Jordan and Madison Grant.
Clark, Clifford. Interview by Evie Harper-Godderz and Jennifer Mailee Lor. 18 Mar 2011.
Clark, a professor of American history at Carleton College, gave us insight on how
eugenicists gained support from average people. He told us that the immigration was making
citizens uneasy with fear about changes of the new people flooding America. Clark also
described the existence of a sort of “racial hierarchy” amongst Americans which determined who
was better by their skin tone. This interview helped expand our research and with the information
we gained we went on to do more research on which immigrants were favoured.
English, Daylanne. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 25 Jan
2011.
Professor English is an English professor at Macalester College, and though she is not a
historian, she wrote a book on eugenics, specializing on the movement as part of the Harlem
Renaissance. She was also very knowledgeable of the whole eugenics movement and was able to
give us an overview of eugenics and who created it, which leaders applied it, who practiced it,
and who supported it. She confirmed the importance of how it was applied, and was able to
better define the consequences of how eugenics affected families and individuals.
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Kevles, Daniel J. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 14 Apr 2011.
Kevles is the author of the books, In the Name of Eugenics, and, The Code of Codes. He
is also a professor of History at Yale University, where we contacted him on the recommendation
of Alan Kraut from American University. Kevles was extremely helpful in providing details
about the Human Genome project and how genetic manipulation is still used today. He also
clarified much of the reasoning and fears behind many sterilization laws passed across many
states in the United States. He also differentiated between the German and American eugenics
programs, but noted that the sterilization purposes were extremely similar and were influenced
by American happenings.
Kraut, Alan. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor. 08 Apr 2011.
Kraut is the author of the book, Silent Travelers, and a professor at American University.
Professor James Stewart, from Macalester, recommended him. Kraut has done extensive research
on this topic, and his book displays much of his work and understanding of the practice of
eugenics, and its genetic impact. He was very valuable on the topic of eugenics, giving us much
information on its ideas, its use, and its practice still happening today. He was able to go into
detail about the testimonies of eugenicists in the Johnson-Reed Act, and provided ideas that we
had never thought of. He recommended a better music selection, along with a broader
perspective on immigration. He talked to us about the multiple arguments favoring immigration
restriction. He also clarified eugenics importance in the testimony of eugenicists, saying that it
provided a strong biological basis for the quota.
Largent, Mark. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 02 Mar 2011.
Mark Largent is a professor at James Madison College and Michigan State University.
He wrote the book, Breeding Contempt: The History of Coerced Sterilization in the United
States. In our interview, he was able to provide details on who was active in the different types of
eugenics and the different actions of individual leaders. One of the things he was able to help us
on was the actions of positive eugenics and the successes of applied positive eugenics. His
perspective was different from most of the opinions of books and interviews we conducted,
which were interesting and helpful. He was able to provide more information on Harry H.
Hamilton and told us that the Great Depression at the time had a large impact on eugenics,
clarifying that it didn’t end directly after Nazi Germany and in fact, didn’t fade completely until
the late 1970s.
Rachleff, Peter. "Conservation and Eugenics." Message to Jennifer Mailee Lor. 13 Jan
2011. E-mail.
Jennifer has known Professor Rachleff for nearly two years, and she started out by asking
him who to look for and what to look for. Rachleff recommended many people, from Daylanne
English to Chris Wells, and the book written by Madison Grant, The Passing of The Great Race.
His recommendations helped us launch our research, where the interviews were extremely
helpful in grasping a hold on eugenics and its components.
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Rachleff, Peter. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 14 Apr 2011.
Professor Peter Rachleff has been extremely helpful in aiding us with many primary and
secondary resources, along with suggesting other people to interview who are experts on
immigration, conservation, and eugenics. What we did not realize that Professor Rachleff himself
taught a course on immigration. The interview with Rachleff was extremely helpful in guiding us
through the immigration acts of 1917, 1921, and 1924, along with explicit information on the
Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It was very helpful in clarifying the contents of the Acts.
Rachleff was also able to expand on the idea of immigration at the time, and the context in which
the Immigration and Nationalities Act was passed in 1965.
Rifkin, Jill. Interview by Evie Harper-Godderz. 11 May 2011.
Jill Rifkin, the granddaughter of Representative Emanuel Celler talked with me over the
telephone. Though she did not have any pictures or documents to share with us, she did say that
her grandfather often brought home immigrants who were in need of help. He would stay up and
talk with them for hours and try to connect them to jobs and decent living arrangements. Rifkin
said that no matter how involved Celler was with the debate going on, he was always very
pleasant and calm. This interview was very helpful because it showed how personally involved
Celler was to his cause.
Stewart, James. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 17 Mar 2011.
James Steward is a professor emeritus and James Wallace Professor of History at
Macalester College. Though he was not currently teaching, Jennifer contacted him and asked him
questions regarding immigration and eugenics. Stewart was extremely knowledgeable on the
topic of eugenics history and origins. He was able to give us a lot of information and details on
the origins of eugenics, the use of it, and its later effect and how it fit into the theme of science
and race in America. He was also extremely helpful to us by recommending different resources,
including Professor Alan Kraut from American University and his book, Silent Travelers.
Wells, Chris. "The Tie Between Conservation and Eugenics." Message to Jennifer Mailee
Lor. 13 Jan 2011. E-mail.
Professor Peter Rachleff recommended Professor Chris Wells from Macalester College.
But when we emailed him, he replied back saying that he might be unhelpful to us. However, he
did recommend the book, Fatal Misconception: The Struggle to Control the World Population,
and meeting with another professor from Macalester who taught a class based on eugenics. His
sources helped further our research.
Wohlforth, Charles. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 25 Feb
2011.
Charles Wohlforth is the author of the book, The Fate of Nature. His chapter,
Conservation and Eugenics, helped us in defining the relation of the Conservation Movement to
the Eugenics Movement. We interviewed him using Skype, where he answered many questions.
We had lots of questions concerning conservation and eugenics and the idea that the theories
were related. He was helpful in confirming some ideas we had and in answering no to several of
our questions. Partly because of our interview with Wohlforth, we decided to move away from
conservation and eugenics and focus on the immigration side of the eugenics movement.
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Video
Gruben, David, Prod. Destination America: The Peoples and Culture that Created America.
Perf. Brown, Blair. Paramount Home Entertainment: 2006, Film
Destination America provided footage of immigrants in the 1900s, and also provided
information on immigration today. It was also interesting and introduced us to different reasons
for immigrating, such as artists from Germany in the 1940s.
Websites
“Ellis Island.” http://www.ellisisland.org/
The Ellis Island website contained many archived pictures of immigrants landing and
waiting for examinations. We used the pictures to display the lifestyles and conditions of
different immigrants. These pictures were used throughout our documentary.
Video Credits
Pictures
Articles
"1890 Census Urged as Immigrant Base: Eugenics Committee Report, Announced by Prof.
Fisher, Would Limit South Europeans." New York Times 06 Jan 1924
Fuller, Raymond G. "Intelligence of Our Immigrants." New York Times 18 Mar 1923:
BR18
"Immigration Bill Reported to House: Fourteen Members of Committee Back Proposals
Submitted by Chairman Johnson." New York Times 09 Feb 1924
Johnson, Roswell H. "Eugenics and Immigration: Johnson Bill Favored Only as a Step
Forward." New York Times 12 Feb 1924
"Keep America "White!"" Current Opinion 1 Apr 1923: 399
"New Yorkers Fight Immigration Bill As Racially Unfair." New York Times February 25
1924: 1
"Upholds Operating on Feeble Minded." New York Times 3 May 1927
Books
Black, Edwin. War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master
Race. New York, NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003.
Grant, Madison. The Passing of The Great Race. New York, NY. Charles Scribner’s Sons.
1916.
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Riis, Jacob. How the Other Half Lives. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc, 1971.
Riis, Jacob. The Battle with the Slum. 1st. Norwood, MA: The Macmillan Company, 1902.
Black, Edwin. War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master
Race. New York, NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2003.
Kevles, Daniel J. In the Name of Eugenics. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1985.
Kraut, Alan M. Silent Travelers: Germs, Genes, and the “Immigrant Menace.” New York,
NY: Basic Books, 1994.
Largent, Mark A. Breeding Contempt: A History of Coerced Sterilization in the United
States. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2008.
Kühl, Stefan. The Nazi Connection. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc., 1994.
Schrag, Peter. Not Fit for Our Society: Immigration and Nativism. Berkeley and Los
Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2010.
Ziegler-McPherson, Christina A. Americanization in the States: Immigrant Social &
National Identity in the United States. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2009.
Websites
“American Memory from The Library of Congress.”
“http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/index.html
“Knowing is Half the Ballot.”
http://votereports.org/
“Veterans Today: Military Veterans and Foreign Affairs Journal.”
http://www.veteranstoday.com/
Music
Elgar, Edward. “Cello Concerto in E Minor.” Elgar: Cello Concerto/Introduction
and Allegro. Naxo, 1998.
Video & Audio
“autographmagazine.com.”
http://autographmagazine.com/
“The Biographicon.”
http://www.biographicon.com/
“Dr. John Tanton’s Photo Gallery.”
http://www.johntanton.org/photo_gallery/photos.html
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Gruben, David, Prod. Destination America: The Peoples and Culture that Created America.
Perf. Brown, Blair. Paramount Home Entertainment: 2006, Film
“The Hamptons.”
http://www.27east.com/
"Immigrants Landing at Ellis Island." History. Web. 7 Jun 2011.
<http://www.history.com/videos/immigrants-landing-at-ellis-island>
Kraut, Alan. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor. 08 Apr 2011.
“LBJ Library & Museum/”
http://www.lbjlibrary.org/
“M.L. King’s “I Have A Dream” Speech.”
http://www.hbci.com/~tgort/king.htm
“My Father’s Views on the Civil Rights Movement.”
http://www.glynn.k12.ga.us/BHS/academics/junior/luko/tamarap36001/home.html
Rachleff, Peter. Interview by Jennifer Mailee Lor and Evie Harper-Godderz. 14 Apr 2011.
31