Goddard and Eugenics      

Dr. Goddard believed that feeblemindedness was an inherited trait, therefore the disease could theoretically be eliminated all together by sterilizing feeble-minded individuals so they could no longer reproduce. Eugenics is the name given to this philosophy. The Eugenicist movement won substantial recognition in early 20^th century America, as demonstrated by the fact that by 1941, 33 US states had endorsed sterilization policies.

Henry Goddard’s book The Kallikak Family: A Study in the Heredity of Feeblemindedness was one of the many best-selling books that led to the enactment of sterilization laws. The book was so popular that it was even considered to be made into a Broadway play.  However, it is interesting to note that this book was almost entirely fiction. The book depicts Martin Kallikak, a Revolutionary War solider, and the descendents of two family lines that he founded. The first line was produced by Martin Kallikak and a virtuous Quaker woman that he married. The descendents of this “wholesome” line were upstanding citizens with no signs of mental retardation. The second line was produced by an illicit affair Martin Kallikak had with a “wayward girl.” The result of this illegitimate union lead to generations of criminals, invalids, and feeble-minded individuals. Goddard called this line “a race of defective degenerates.” Deborah Kallikak, a member of this line, was one of Goddard’s patients at The Training School.

However, this story had little scientific basis. Goddard claimed that he could recognize feeble-mindedness by sight, and therefore he could determine whether an individual was mentally deficient through as little as a photograph. The validity of this research method is doubtful. Another of Goddard’s methods relied upon interviews. He often determined feeble-mindedness through a second hand account of an individual. This method is clearly flawed. Furthermore, the images Goddard published in the book were doctored to give the descendents of the “degenerate” line a sinister look. Even the name “Kallikak” was a fabrication of Goddard’s: the name is a pseudonym derived from the two Greek words “kalos”(good) and “kakos”(bad). As you can see, this was in fact a biased study in which reality had been severely twisted to prove a point.

Henry Goddard was obviously a biased author who was more concerned with popularizing the Eugenicist movement than conducting a scientific study. Sadly enough, it was Goddard’s erroneous research (in conjunction with other “scientific” studies) that were used to involuntarily sterilize 60,000 individuals in the United States. Interestingly enough, Nazi Germany had a similar policy towards the feebleminded, however theirs was much more severe, as they ended up sterilizing over 350,000 individuals. Another startling fact to mention is that The Kallikak Family was published in Germany in 1914, and again in 1933 when the Nazis came to power. The striking similarities between American and Nazi practice are certainly alarming.

Later in his career, Henry Goddard withdrew his previous beliefs on the hereditary nature of feeblemindedness and questioned the need for eugenic solutions to the problem of mental deficiency.  

 

Related Links

·          Hardly Humane Goddard- A paper which discusses Goddard’s beliefs.

·          The Kallikak Family- An excellent site explaining The Kallikak Family in great detail.

·          Comments on Kallikaks and the Bell Curve- Well written commentary on eugenics and The Kallikak Family

·          History of Psychology: Goddard's Kallikaks- An excellent site that does a chapter by chapter analysis of  The Kallikak Family

·          Henry H. Goddard- A brief biography of Dr. Goddard