Popenoe And Johnson Applied Eugenics Summary

Applied Eugenics by P. Popenoe and R.H. Johnson
The Argument: The main focus of the article Applied Eugenics, written by P. Popenoe and R.H. Johnson, is that it would be detrimental to the American gene pool to allow foreigners to immigrate to Unites States soil. This article identifies that, in 1918, there were approximately “14,000,000 foreign-born persons, together with other millions of the sons and daughters of foreigners who although born on American soil have as yet been little assimilated to Americanism” (Popenoe & Johnson, 1918). They argue that foreigners should not be absorbed, as the stock that is incoming is not as hardy as the stock that the original invaders brought with them, as necessitated by the vigorous voyage to, and strenuous establishment on,
The royal line of England during Queen Victoria's reign was afflicted with hemophilia, mainly due to a lack of genetic diversity in the royalty of the era. Hemophilia was a death sentence back then, as any scrape, bruise, or trauma could cause uncontrollable bleeding as the wound did not clot. Females, especially, were prone to death at the onset of menses, as their own bodies bled out during menstruation. Queen Victoria encouraged her daughter in a letter to choose someone as her spouse that was of a different genetic stock than herself. Queen Victoria often lamented that she wished for more “black eyed Princes and Princesses [to be found] for our children! I can't help thinking what dear Papa said-that it was in face when there was some little imperfections in the pure Royal descent that some fresh blood was infused” (Aronova-Tiuntseva & Herreid, n.d., pp. 2). She acknowledged that the lack of diversity was the cause of the hemophilia within her family line, and worked to encourage a more open outlook to her children, so that the bloodline could be strengthened away from