Eugenics 19th Century

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Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, changes in culture, economics, and society have led to various breakthroughs and new perspectives in science. As society has become more progressive towards extending basic rights to those other than straight white males, we have seen a shift in science as well. The prejudice highlighted by the Eugenics movement and reproductive science debates led to changes in society as the public began to question these movements. Scientific research can be a direct reflection of societal beliefs, and the results can often inspire change. This essay will explore the culture, economics, and society of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and how these aspects affected scientific research and breakthroughs. …show more content…
While science is physical, culture almost seems to transcend the physical world. However, this could not be further from the truth as culture and science are interconnected with each other. They directly influence each other as culture directs scientific discoveries and responds to them. The Eugenics movement and scientific racism both grew as a result of the existing culture of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which included “the misappropriation of revolutionary advances in medicine, anatomy and statistics., Darwin’s theory of evolution., and Mendel’s law of inheritance” (National Human Genome Research Institute). Furthermore, these movements “drew support from contemporary xenophobia, antisemitism, sexism, colonialism, and imperialism, as well as justification of slavery, particularly in the United States” (National Human Genome Research Institute). After the end of World War II, however, a cultural shift led to the denouncement of the Eugenics movement after the public became aware of the experiments and policies implemented by Nazi …show more content…
One of the biggest societal shifts seen in the United States is the role of women. With the women’s rights movement gaining traction in the early twentieth century, women began to demand the development and use of birth control as they became tired of being constantly pregnant. This also ties into Malthus’s theory as society became fearful of the “population bomb.” It was believed that “by reducing the population, [contraception] would alleviate the conditions of poverty and unrest that might lead developing nations to embrace communism” (May, 3). The birth control pill was developed in response to both societal changes and economic
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