EUGENIC STERILIZATION IN 20TH CENTURY GEORGIA: FROM PROGRESSIVE UTILITARIANISM TO INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS by

(Under the direction of Johnathan O’Neill) The science of human breeding, known as eugenics, flourished in America in the first half of the 20th century. The movement’s chief proponents included wealthy philanthropists, politicians, doctors, and young middle-class reformers. Sterilization for the purposes of removing defective genes from society was a critical part of the eugenics movement. Progressive reformers used eugenic doctrines combined with utilitarian political philosophy to divest individuals of the natural right to procreation. Involuntary sterilization legislation spread throughout the United States after the 1927 Buck v. Bell Supreme Court decision that gave judicial approval to involuntary sterilization, regardless of due process and equal protection arguments to the contrary. It was in this legal environment that Georgia adopted sterilization legislation as a cost-saving measure. When progressive politicians assumed control of the governorship and legislature in 1937 sterilization legislation passed with little meaningful objection. Over 3,000 involuntary sterilizations were performed in Georgia. Newly revealed documents from the Georgia Department of Archives and History show that social deference t