Eugenics Timeline

On the Origin of the Species 1859

This work revolutionized science through his theories on evolution and natural selection.

The Descent of Man 1871

This further expanded on evolution and has more bearing on the eugenics movement as it refers to the differences between the races of men and the natural inferiority of several of them. It is notable however, that Darwin does not think the races as different or dangerous as Galton.

Sir Francis Galton 1822-1911

Founder of the Eugenics movement and the term itself. He was a prolific writer and a highly respected member of the English scientific community.

Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development 1883

This document served as a manifesto and building block for all later eugenic works. It declared the major beliefs of the "science" of Eugenics.

Pluck and Luck (No.7) April 6, 1898

This story follows Robert Singleton and his servant Pomp as they fight off the British with the legendary Swamp Fox during the American Revolution.  Racism directed mainly towards African Americans.

Buffalo Bill's Mexican Adventure (No.189) December 24, 1904

Buffalo Bill and his companions trek through Mexico in search of the ferocious and feared White Indians of the Yucatan. Racism directed mainly towards Mexicans and Native Americans while building up the image of a pure and white race.

Buffalo Bill's Pay-streak (No.379) August 15,1908

Buffalo Bill and his pals foil a plan created by a lawless gang who plan to dupe an out-of-towner to buy a mine.  Racism directed mainly toward Native Americans, Chinese, African American, and Irish people.

Buffalo Bill's Chinese Chase (No.449) December 18, 1909

Buffalo Bill and his crew adventure into San Francisco’s Chinatown to solve the mystery of a missing man.  Racism directed entirely on Chinese.

Buffallo Bill and the Horde of Hermosa (No.451) January 1, 1910

Buffalo Bill and his fellow scouts battle a gang in order to bring peace to the Southwest.  Racism directed mainly toward Native Americans and Mexicans.

Zionism: Its Aims and Achievements 1935

Ironically the tendency of groups to declare themselves a master race extended even to the most often marginalized group, the Jews. In this contemporary pamphlet to those that deride the Jews the author says very similarly negative things about Arabs.

All though there was a great deal of racist and eugenic printing there were some in the 1930's who tried to stem the tide of hate. This pamphlet in particular is interesting because in the first paragraph it recognizes that Caucasian Christians had been and still were mistreating Native Americans, Jews, and blacks out of a false sense of superiority.

1931:Japanese invade Manchuria seeing the Chinese as an inferior race.

1933: Hitler gets dictatorial power and begins to pass anti-Jewish legislation and the first concentration camps are built.

1945: The war ends with the defeat of the Axis powers, but not before tens of millions of deaths.

World War II saw the culmination of decades of eugenic propaganda against "inferior races" in the form of the deaths of millions of people. From the German genocide of the Jews to Rape of Nanking by the Japanese death and internment was widespread. Such was the horror that after 1945 the eugenics movement was delegitimized.