Sex, Race, and Science: Eugenics in the Deep South

In the first book to explore the theory and practice of eugenics in the American South, Edward J. Larson shows how the quest for "strong bloodlines"expressed itself in state laws and public policies from the Progressive Era through World War II. Larson shows how the seemingly broad-based eugenics movement was in fact a series of distinct campaigns by small groups of determined individuals for legislation at the state level.

Although Southerners were hardly the only people preoccupied with sex and race, their response to eugenic theories was recongizably distinctive in its enthusiasm. Larson provides a detailed analysis of the various state laws and public policies--and the forces behind their implementation. As he demonstrates, Southern eugenics was not merely a matter of preventing the "white race" from being "tainted" by African-American blood; great concern also existed regarding the widespread reproduction of the "unfit" (physically and mentally disabled), with sterilization frequently proposed as a solution. With his concise prose style, Larson makes this broad topic, which has continued relevance as our medical and genetic technologies become more and more refined, accessible to the general reader.