Vol. 2 No. 1: History Senior Thesis
Articles

Eugenic Sterilization: The Final Solution for America

Jessie A. Carlson
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Bio

How to Cite

Carlson, J. A. (2009). Eugenic Sterilization: The Final Solution for America. URJ-UCCS: Undergraduate Research Journal at UCCS, 2(1), 131–144. Retrieved from https://urj.uccs.edu/index.php/urj/article/view/56

Abstract

In the 1920's and 1930's, eugenic theory enjoyed popularity in educated America society. Charles Fremont Dight, a physician from Minnesota, led a movement in that state to pass laws and spread education concerning eugenics. He believed the government, church, and educational system insufficiently fought crime and degeneracy; thus, eugenic sterilization laws were the only way to permanently solve society's problems. However, though he dismissed each of these three institutions as inadequate, Dight still used each one to communicate or implement eugenic theory. Dight sought to create a utopian society, free of crime and problems of any kind, accomplished only through sterilizing individuals he and others deemed "unfit."