Francis Galton and the Early Days of Eugenics

The origins of eugenics lie in Darwinism. Francis Galton wanted humans to direct their own evolution through increased artificial selection. This implied earlier marriage for the able classes in the community and that the weak in body and mind should forego reproduction. Social reforms were useful but lacked the power which would be unleashed by better heredity. These observations were made in the 1860s and 1870s. Eugenics became an organized endeavour in Edwardian Britain (1901–1910). The chapter concentrates on the period when the doctrine was inchoate. It considers how Galton envisaged eugenics and how its new supporters reacted. A wave of pessimism in the first decade of the twentieth century regarding what was called ‘degeneration’ affected the doctrine. Galton wrote with concern about the number of ‘feebleminded’. He began formulating suggested policies of institutionalization and restrictions on marriage. Eugenics could easily be combined with pre-existing political views. Most adherents believed in laissez-faire economics and that social classes differed significantly in their inherent capacities. A minority wanted environmental amelioration, such as slum clearance, to accompany hereditarian measures. The arguments used by Galton and others are evaluated, with note also taken of the American version which had an impact on British eugenics.