American Progressivism: Supreme Court of the United States and the legitimization of eugenic practices

Abstract

The purpose of the article is the presentation of the directions of reforms and development of eugenic ideas in the Progressive Era in the United States, and the evaluation of the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States in the context of eugenic practices. Progressives reached their height in the early 20th century as a response to vast industrialization, the growth of large corporations, and the fears of corruption in American politics. The second half of the Progressive Era brought many statutory victories by the progressive economists and their proponents. Their reforms included state laws that regulated working conditions, fixed minimum wages, determined working hours, and banned child labour. Eugenic views justified exclusionary immigration legislation, and economists affiliated with the American Association for Labor Legislation advocating labour reforms were under the influence of ‘race-suicide’ theories. The jurisprudence of the U.S. Supreme Court profoundly influenced the shape of the legal order in economic and labour law. Some decisions reflected the ideological attitudes of the justices rather than an aspiration for reform. The effect of the ruling in Buck v. Bell was the legitimization of eugenic practices in the United States. The case was also a classic example of an individual’s right versus state’s rights to control reproduction.