Demography and Degeneration: Eugenics and the Declining Birthrate in Twentieth-Century Britain

472 Pages·1995·32.818 MB·English

by  Richard A. Soloway

Richard A. Soloway
Demography and Degeneration
Eugenics and the Declining Birthrate
in Twentieth-Century Britain
With a New Preface by the Author
The University of North Carolina Press
Chapel Hill and London
© 199°' T995 by The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Soloway, Richard A.
Demography and degeneration : eugenics and the declining birthrate
in twentieth-century Britain / by Richard A. Soloway
p. cm.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
ISBN 0-8078-1865-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN o-8o78-4554-x (pbk. : alk. paper)
i. Eugenics—Great Britain—History—2Oth century. 2. Family
size—Great Britain—History—2Oth century. I. Title.
HQ755-5-G7S65 1990
3O3.6'34'o94i—dc2O
89-33500
CIP
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
05 04 03 02 01 7 6 5 43
THIS BOOK WAS DIGITALLY PRINTED.
Demography and Degeneration
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For Leslie
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Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction xvii
One | The Turn of the Century I
The Diminishing Birthrate 3
Differential Fertility I o
Two | Eugenics and the New Population Question 18
Gallon's Legacy 18
Disciples and Evangelists 27
Entering the Public Arena: The Eugenics Education Society 31
Three | Deterioration and Decline 38
Urbanization and the Race 39
The Boer War and Race Deterioration 41
The Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration 43
Fertility and Biology 47
Civilization and Natural Selection 52
Four | Class and the Religion of Race Culture 60
Positive Eugenics: Marriage and Selective Breeding 63
Germ Plasm and Class 73
Eugenics: A New Religion 80
Five | Eugenics and Neo-Malthusianism 86
Rational Selection: Selfish or Selfless? 87
Cause and Effect 89
Quality versus Quantity:
Neo-Malthusianism and Negative Eugenics 94
The Unforged Alliance 101
Six | Race-Motherhood no
Galton, Pearson, and the Nature of Wornen 111
Education, Feminism, and Fertility 122
Eugenic Feminism 127
viii Contents
Seven | The Dysgenics of War 138
"Skimming the Cream": Eugenics and the Lost Generation 140
Reconstructing the Race 142
Eugenics and Pronatalism 146
Sex Ratios and Race Reconstruction 156
Eight | Eugenics and the Birth Control Movement, 1918-1930 163
Vital Statistics and Demographic Strategies 164
The Persistent Dilemma: Nature versus Nurture 172
Facing Reality: Birth Control Is Here to Stay 175
The Natural Alliance 182
Nine | Reform Eugenics, Population Research,
and Family Planning, 1930-1939 193
C. P. Blacker and New Directions 195
Eugenics and the National Birth Control Association 203
Research and Voluntary Parenthood 215
Ten | Race Suicide Revisited: The Menace of Underpopulation 226
"Are Our Children Today As Good As Their Grandfathers?" 226
Net Fertility and the Twilight of Parenthood 232
The Depopulation Panic 241
The PIC and "The Nosey Parkers" 247
Depopulation Doubted 253
Eleven | Family Planning and the Fear of Population Decline 259
Birth Control and the Depopulation Scare 260
"And Everybody Wondered Why the Population Fell" 271
Twelve | Feminism and Family Allowances 283
The "Female Famine" 284
"Yea, I Have a Goodly Heritage!":
Eugenics and Family Allowances 292
Nazis and Eugenicists in a "Baby Mad" World 301
Thirteen | World War II and the Population Question 312
Keep the Eugenic Rag Flying 313
Differential Birthrates and Population Policy 319
The Revival of the Depopulation Scare 324
Beveridge, Family Allowances, and the Eugenicists 330
Contents ix
Fourteen | From Baby Boom to Birth Dearth 336
The "Unique Opportunity":
The Royal Commission on Population 337
The Population and the Polls 343
The Failure of the Eugenic Dream 350
Notes 363
Works Cited 407
Index 425