Process Paper
We first discovered the American Eugenics Movement when Avi attended a talk on the history of American eugenics given by one of our later interviews, Judith Daar, and heard the story of Carrie Buck. This got her very interested in the topic and prompted her to do some more research. When she suggested that we use this topic for History Day, we debated it. One of Troy 's cousins has autism, and when we learned that people with these kinds of disabilities would have been sterilized we were further interested and all unanimously agreed. Our group ended up choosing to research this subject because it was a slice of history that had a colossal impact on the world, but is largely (and intentionally) forgotten by modern society.
Once we were certain of the topic, we began our study by going to our local library and reading as much as possible. We first went to the San Diego Public Library and checked out various books on eugenics written by some of the leading experts in the field. To find primary sources and documents, we used online databases such as ABC-CLIO, Britannica Online, and Gale. We further broadened our research by conducting several interviews with legal historians and scientists who had expertise in the topic of eugenics. While searching for photos and charts to add to the group website, we utilized various archives such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories and DNA Learning Center. Finally, we searched for old newspaper clippings in the website Chronicling America.
Our group decided to create a website because it is interactive and it catered to the individual strengths of the members. Our project works best as a website because it allows us to add multimedia such as video clips, maps, and images. In addition, we liked the idea of allowing the viewer to navigate through our project under their own power and at their own pace, which isn’t possible with a documentary, even though it incorporates many different aspects of media.
The American eugenics movement relates in many ways to this year’s theme of rights and responsibilities. This was a period of history in which the liberties of the people were disregarded and the state neglected to protect them, even though it had the power and the responsibility to do so. The leaders of this movement believed that they were responsible for the welfare of society, and that eugenics would be have positive long-term effects for humanity. This violation of basic rights led to catastrophic consequences that remain a stain on American history.