Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection provides an interesting case of how scientific ideas can get misapplied in society. Register to explore the whole course here: https://school.bighistoryproject.com/bhplive?WT.mc_id=Slideshare12202017

1. TEACHING MATERIALS
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 1
Framing problem/
question
How and why have people misused Darwin’s ideas?
Why do historians,
scientists, and
others care about
this question?
In his 1981 book The Mismeasure of Man, Stephen Jay Gould writes, “The concept of
evolution transformed human thought during the nineteenth century. Nearly every
question in the life sciences was reformulated in its light. No idea was ever more widely
used, or misused.” A prominent example of the misuse of Darwin’s theory is social
Darwinism, which applies the idea of “survival of the fittest” to human societies.
Social Darwinist ideas have far-reaching and devastating consequences for individuals
deemed “unfit.” Hitler and the Nazi party, for example, used social Darwinist ideas to
justify the murder of Jews, Roma, the handicapped, and others deemed “undesirable.”
This investigation looks at how the eugenics movement spun out of Darwin’s theory of
evolution by natural selection, and focuses on the application of social Darwinist ideas
in the United States in the early 20th century.
Why should teachers
and students of big
history care about this
question?
While Unit 5 asks students to consider the impact of Darwin’s theory of evolution on
our understanding of genetics and inheritance, this investigation asks students to con-
sider how and why people in the eugenics movement misused Darwin’s ideas. Students
first investigate how people have applied ideas like “artificial selection” and “survival
of the fittest” to human societies and then look at how this practice evolved into the
eugenics movement. Students consider the social and political context in which these
ideas were applied and the dire consequences for individuals deemed “unfit.” Because
the authors, purposes, and contexts of these documents are critical to understanding
them, we provide guidance to help students in analyzing them.
What texts are
in the Investigation
Library?
Primary
Sources
• Charles Darwin on variability and artificial selection
• Herbert Spencer and the “survival of the fittest”
• Francis Galton introduces the concept of eugenics
• David Ward’s map of immigration to the United States
• Harry H. Laughlin’s House testimony on the
“biological aspects of immigrants”
• Buck v. Bell opinion
• Sterilization laws in the United States as of January 1, 1935
What is the
students’ project
or prewriting task?
Document analysis: Have students fill out the document-analysis worksheet as an
aid in closely analyzing the texts. It will be helpful to walk through one or two texts
together or to model close analysis.
What is the students’
writing task?
Create an explanation: Have students use their document-analysis sheets to write a
five- to six-paragraph essay explaining how and why scientific ideas sometimes get
misused in society. They should write a thesis statement and support it with examples
and illustrations from the Investigation Library. Students should cite documents within
their paper, referring to author, date, and context as appropriate.
UNIT 5
TEACHING THIS
INVESTIGATION

2. TEACHING MATERIALS
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 2
1
Lexile measure indicates the reading demand of the text in terms of its semantic difficulty and syntactic complexity. The Lexile scale
generally ranges from 200L to 1700L. The Common Core emphasizes the role of text complexity in evaluating student readiness for
college and careers.
2
We are using the Common Core “stretch” grade bands. The Common Core Standards advocate a “staircase” of increasing text complexity
so that students “stretch” to read a certain proportion of texts from the next higher text complexity band.
3
In the Flesch Reading Ease test, higher scores indicate that the material is relatively easy to read while lower scores indicate greater
difficulty. Scores in the 50–70 range should be easily understood by 13- to 15-year-olds, while those in the 0–30 range are appropriate
for university graduates.
Analysis of texts in this investigation
Text Name Lexile
Measure1
Common Core
Stretch
Grade Band2
Mean
Sentence
Length
Flesch
Ease3
Introduction 1120 6–8 17.9 45.6
Steps in this Investigation 1100 6–8 17.89 55.9
TEXT 01
Darwin on variability and
artificial selection
1310 9–10 20.75 34.3
TEXT 02
Spencer and the “survival
of the fittest”
1290 9–10 19.95 39
TEXT 03
Galton and eugenics
1330 9–10 22.08 33
TEXT 04
Immigration to the
United States
1280 9–10 22 27.4
TEXT 05
Laughlin testimony on
the “biological aspects of
immigrants”
1300 9–10 21.32 30.5
TEXT 06
Buck v. Bell opinion
1320 9–10 23.35 37.2
TEXT 07
Sterilization laws in the
United States
1100 6–8 15.25 29.4

3. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 1
5
INVESTIGATION
How and why have people misused Darwin’s ideas?
Have you ever had a good idea that others have misinterpreted? Or have you ever heard a good
idea that others were using or applying in the wrong way? Have you ever heard scientists argue
that the public has misunderstood and misapplied a scientific idea?
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection provides an interesting case
of how scientific ideas can get misapplied in society. Darwin’s theory, which he first explained
in On the Origin of Species in 1859, is one of the most significant breakthroughs in the history
of science. It transformed the way people saw the natural world, and provided a new point of
view to guide scientific inquiry, research, and interpretation. Darwin published On the Origin
of Species at a time when many scientists agreed that life evolved but had not reached consen-
sus on the mechanisms for evolution. When Darwin presented natural selection as the logical
mechanism for evolution that scientists were seeking, they readily accepted his theory and
applied it in their own work.
In his 1981 book The Mismeasure of Man, biologist Stephen Jay Gould writes, “The concept of
evolution transformed human thought during the nineteenth century. Nearly every question in
the life sciences was reformulated in its light.” However, Gould notes, “No idea was ever more
widely…misused.”
How and why did people misuse Darwin’s ideas?
In this investigation, you’ll consider how people applied Darwin’s ideas to human societies in the
late 19th and early 20th centuries, despite the fact that On the Origin of Species was about the
natural world. Some of Darwin’s contemporaries were not only struggling with questions about
evolution and other natural phenomena; they were also struggling to understand a number of
social issues. New and expanding industry, rapid urbanization, migration and immigration, and
increasing social and economic inequalities left people seeking answers to make sense of
the world around them. The need to make sense of the social world as well as the natural world
led some people to apply Darwin’s ideas in ways they were not intended for.
What factors influenced people’s interpretations of Darwin? How did people misapply his ideas?
What were the consequences of these misapplications?
All of the documents in this investigation are primary source documents. Because considering
the source and context of these documents is so important for this investigation, you will
practice closely analyzing the texts in the Investigation Library. At the end of the investigation,
you will be asked to write an essay, using your sources as support.

4. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 2
THE STEPS IN
THIS INVESTIGATION
How and why have people misused Darwin’s ideas?
EXPLORE Begin by gathering your initial conjectures — your best guesses — about why and how scientific
ideas get misused.
• Have you ever had a good idea that others have misinterpreted? Or have you ever heard a good
idea that you see others using or applying in the wrong way?
• Think of scientific ideas you read or hear about today. Do these ever get misapplied in society?
How so?
RESEARCH Read the materials in the Investigation Library to learn about the time when Darwin published
On the Origin of Species and the decades following its publication, as well as the way people
applied the theory of natural selection in society. Pay close attention to when the text was writ-
ten, who wrote it, and why it was written. Consider what you know about the time periods in
which these documents were written, and about the authors, and how each document helps you
answer the investigation question.
SHOW YOUR
THINKING
We have provided a document-analysis sheet for you to use with the texts in the Investigation
Library. Write as much as you know about the author, the time period, and what the text is
telling you. Write a brief summary of how each text helps you answer the investigation question,
and how it adds to what the other texts have already told you. Note patterns you see developing,
or questions you think need answering.
Using the documents, write a five- to six-paragraph essay explaining how and why people
have misused Darwin’s ideas. You should remember to use the information from the texts, big
history concepts and themes, and evidence to support your claims. Remember to specifically
reference the texts, noting author and time period.
Investigations do not end with your answer. Share your essay with your classmates, read their
essays, and describe in your journal how your explanation compares with theirs, and the extent
to which their ideas support, extend, or refute your initial conjectures.

5. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 3
RESEARCHING THE
INVESTIGATION LIBRARY
Make a research card for each text that you study.
Author and name of text Type of document
(article, letter, chart, map, etc.)
Date
Primary Secondary
What do you know about this author/source? Do you trust this author/source?
What was the original purpose of this document? What’s the main idea of this document?
How does this document help you answer the investigation question?

6. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 4
TEXT 01 CHARLES DARWIN ON VARIABILITY AND ARTIFICIAL SELECTION 5
TEXT 02 HERBERT SPENCER AND THE “SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST” 6
TEXT 03 FRANCIS GALTON INTRODUCES THE CONCEPT OF EUGENICS 7
TEXT 04 IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES 8
TEXT 05 HARRY H. LAUGHLIN’S HOUSE TESTIMONY ON THE 9
“BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF IMMIGRANTS”
TEXT 06 BUCK V. BELL OPINION 11
TEXT 07 STERILIZATION LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES 12
AS OF JANUARY 1, 1935
5
INVESTIGATION LIBRARY

7. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 5
How did observations
of artificial selection lead
Darwin to the idea of
natural selection? How
do you think people
could misinterpret these
ideas when thinking
about human societies?
TEXT 01
CHARLES DARWIN ON
VARIABILITY AND
ARTIFICIAL SELECTION
In 1859, naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) introduced the world to the theory of
natural selection in his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. In
the excerpt below, Darwin discusses the process of artificial selection in domesticated
plants and animals. He first observes that variations sometimes occur in species re-
gardless of external conditions. He then describes artificial selection as the process by
which humans consciously or unconsciously select and breed plants or animals with
desirable traits in order to increase the number of individuals with those desirable traits.
Darwin used his observations of artificial selection to propose the idea of “natural
selection.”
Under domestication we see much variability, caused, or at least excited, by changed
conditions of life. As long as the conditions of life remain the same, we have reason
to believe that a modification, which many generations have inherited, may continue
to be inherited. On the other hand we have evidence that variability, once it has
come into play, does not cease under domestication for a very long period. We do not
know that it ever ceases, for our oldest domesticated productions still occasionally
produce new varieties.
Variability is not actually caused by man. He only unintentionally exposes organic beings
to new conditions of life. Then nature acts on the organization and causes it to vary.
But man can and does select the variations given to him by nature, and thus accumu-
lates them in any desired manner. He thus adapts animals and plants for his own
benefit or pleasure. He may do this methodically, or he may do it unconsciously by
preserving the individuals most useful or pleasing to him without any intention
of altering the breed. It is certain that he can largely influence the character of a breed
by selecting, in each successive generation, individual differences so slight as to
be inappreciable, except by an educated eye. This unconscious process of selection
has been the great agency in the formation of the most distinct and useful domestic
breeds.
Source
Modified from Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), 6th edition,
Kindle edition.

8. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 6
How is Spencer using
the term “fitness”? Do
you think he uses it in
the same way Darwin did
in his theory of natural
selection? At this point,
how do you think you
would answer the investi-
gation question, How
and why have people
misused Darwin’s ideas?
TEXT 02
HERBERT SPENCER
AND THE “SURVIVAL
OF THE FITTEST”
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was one of the most famous philosophers, biologists,
sociologists, and political theorists in the late 19th century. Living in England during the
Victorian Era, Spencer witnessed a doubling of the British population, as well as intense
urbanization accompanied by a growth in poverty. Spencer reportedly began thinking
about evolutionary theory even before Darwin published On the Origin of Species. It was
he who coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” — often attributed to Darwin — in his
1864 book Principles of Biology. Spencer applied evolutionary principles to philosophy,
psychology, and the study of society. He used the notion of the “fittest” in discussions of
rich and poor in capitalist society. Spencer’s melding of evolutionary and social theory
made him synonymous with an ideology known as social Darwinism. This ideology
asserts that sociocultural advancement is the result of “natural” competition in which
those who possess biological superiority win. The following text is an excerpt from
Spencer’s 1851 book Social Statics, which asserted that men and society were subject to
the laws of science and nature.
Nature just as much insists on fitness between mental character and circumstances,
as between physical character and circumstances. Radical defects are as much
causes of death in the one case as in the other. He on whom his own stupidity, vice,
or idleness entails loss of life must be classed with the victims of weak organs or
malformed limbs. In his case, as in the others, there exists a fatal non-adaptation.
It matters not in the abstract whether it be a moral, an intellectual, or a bodily one.
Beings thus imperfect are nature’s failures, and are recalled by her laws when found
to be such. Along with the rest they are put upon trial. If they are sufficiently com-
plete to live, they do live, and it is well they should live. If they are not sufficiently
complete to live, they die, and it is best they should die. Whether the incompleteness
be in strength, agility, perception, foresight, or self-control is not heeded. But if any
faculty is unusually deficient, the probabilities are that, in the long run, some disas-
trous, or fatal result will follow. And, however irregular the action of this law may
appear, due consideration must satisfy every one that the average effect is to purify
society from those who are, in some respect or other, essentially faulty.
Source
Modified from Herbert Spencer, Social Statics (London: John Chapman, 1851). Google eBook.

9. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 7
What is eugenics? Why
might Galton find Darwin’s
discussion of artificial
selection particularly inter-
esting?
TEXT 03
FRANCIS GALTON
INTRODUCES THE
CONCEPT OF EUGENICS
English scientist Francis Galton (1822–1911) grew up in a wealthy family that included
several notable individuals, including Charles Darwin. Galton was a man of diverse
interests, studying anthropology, geography, meteorology, biology, and statistics, among
other things. Building off of his cousin’s work in On the Origin of Species, Galton began
to speculate on how humans inherited traits. Through studying the family histories of
notable British individuals, and measuring and comparing statistics from different popu-
lation groups, Galton developed a theory that humans inherited what he called “noble”
human traits, like superior intelligence or abilities. In the latter part of his career, Galton
developed the concept of eugenics as a way to encourage the development of “noble”
traits in humans. The following excerpt is from his 1883 book Inquiries into Human Facul-
ty and Its Development, in which he introduced his ideas.
This book’s intention is to touch on various topics more or less connected with the
cultivation of race, or, as we might call it, with “eugenic” questions.
Whenever a low race is preserved under conditions of life that exact a high level of
efficiency, it must be subjected to rigorous selection. The few best specimens of that
race can alone be allowed to become parents, and not many of their descendants can
be allowed to live. On the other hand, if a higher race is substituted for the low one,
all this terrible misery disappears. The most merciful form of “eugenics” would consist
in watching for the indications of superior strains or races. In so favoring them their
progeny shall outnumber and gradually replace that of the old one.
Source
Modified from Francis Galton, Inquiries into Human Faculty and Its Development (New York: Macmillan, 1883).
Project Gutenberg eBook.

10. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 8
TEXT 04
IMMIGRATION TO
THE UNITED STATES
These maps, by University of Wisconsin professor David Ward, show the surging num-
bers and changing demographics of immigrant populations to the United States from
the 19th to the 20th centuries. From 1820 through 1879, the numbers of new immigrants
gradually increased but never exceeded 3 million per decade, with most arriving from
northwestern Europe. From 1880 through 1919, about 6 million arrived each decade,
the great majority from southern, central, and eastern Europe. These changes were a
major factor in sparking the eugenics movement in the U.S.
Source
David Ward, “Population Growth, Migration, and Urbanization, 1860–1920,” in North America: The Historical
Geography of a Changing Continent, eds. Thomas F. McIlwraith and Edward K. Muller (Lanham, MD: Row-
man and Littlefield, 2001), 285-306.

11. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 9
What factors are influenc-
ing Laughlin’s ideas? Do
you think the policymakers
he’s speaking to would be
influenced by the same
ideas? Why would policy-
makers believe Laughlin?
TEXT 05
HARRY H. LAUGHLIN’S
HOUSE TESTIMONY ON
THE “BIOLOGICAL
ASPECTS OF IMMIGRANTS”
At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States experienced a dramatic increase
in the number of immigrants entering the country. While 3.5 million people had immigrat-
ed to the country between 1890 and 1900, the number jumped to 9 million people in the
first decade of the 20th century. Also, by 1910, most immigrants were from southern and
eastern Europe, instead of northern and western Europe like earlier groups. Eugeni-
cists, most of whom were of northern and western European heritage, worried that the
new immigrants from southern and eastern Europe weakened America biologically.
They lobbied for federal legislation to restrict immigration from “undesirable” countries.
One of the leading eugenicists in the United States was Harry H. Laughlin (1880–1943),
who was the superintendent of the Eugenics Records Office, a center for eugenics and
heredity research located in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. He became the anti-immi-
gration movement’s most persuasive lobbyist, testifying several times before the House
of Representatives Committee on Immigration and Naturalization. In his testimonies,
Laughlin used flawed data to show that new immigrants had high levels of “social inade-
quacy,” including feeblemindedness, insanity, criminality, and dependency. Laughlin’s
testimonies played a key role in passing the Immigration Restriction Act of 1924, which,
among other things, restricted immigration from southern and eastern Europe countries
to only 9 percent of the total. The following excerpt is from his 1920 testimony before
Congress.
Statement of Mr. H.H. Laughlin, of the Eugenics Research Association, of Cold
Spring Harbor, Long Island, N.Y.
Mr. Chairman, I want to present the biological and eugenical aspect of immigration.
Some of my remarks will be of a general nature, but I will support them by special data.
The character of the nation is determined primarily by its racial qualities; that is,
by the hereditary physical, mental, and moral or temperamental traits of its people.
We have trained field workers who visit insane hospitals, prisons, and other institu-
tions for the socially inadequate. They get in touch with the inmates or patients,
find out whether they are of native or foreign stock, and then go to their home territo-
ries and determine what kind of hereditary material they are made of. We are trying
to solve the problem of the relative influences of heredity and environment in making
these degenerate Americans.
Since coming under national control our immigration policy has been determined
largely upon an economic basis.

12. BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 10
However, it is now high time that the eugenical element — that is, the factor of natural
hereditary qualities which will determine our future characteristics and safety —
receive due consideration. Permit me to set forth a plan which our investigators
thought we should enforce in testing the worth of immigrants. First, we think that an
examination of the immigrants should be made in their home towns. That is the only
place where one can get eugenical facts. If the investigator goes to an institution,
a prison, a school for the feebleminded, or a poorhouse and finds an individual
inmate, not much can be told about the inborn quality of the subject unless the investi-
gator can secure the family history in the inmate’s home territory. Then he can find
out what sort of material the individual subject is made of — for example, whether he
comes from an industrious or a shiftless family. If the prospective immigrant is a
potential parent, then his or her admission to the United States should be dependent
not merely upon present illiteracy, social qualifications, and economic status. It should
also be dependent upon the possession of such physical, mental, and moral qualities
as the American people desire to be possessed inherently by its future citizenry.
Source
Modified from “Biological Aspects of Immigration,” Harry H. Laughlin testimony before the House Com-
mittee on Immigration and Naturalization (1920). The Harry H. Laughlin Papers, Truman State University.

13. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 11
What new context does
this document provide?
How do you think the court
came to judge Carrie Buck
to be “feebleminded”?
TEXT 06
BUCK V. BELL OPINION
In addition to immigration laws, the U.S. Eugenics Records Office also tried to influence
sterilization laws — that is, laws that would force people to undergo surgical procedures
to prevent them from producing children. Indiana was the first state to pass a eugenics
sterilization law in 1907 and other states followed suit, including Virginia in 1924. In
that same year, the Board of Directors for the Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-
minded authorized the forced sterilization of Carrie Buck, a patient at that institution.
Both Carrie and her mother, Emma, had given birth to children outside of marriage, and
so both were judged to be “feebleminded” and promiscuous. The case reached the
Supreme Court of the United States, which upheld both the Virginia law and the steril-
ization of Carrie. Only Justice Pierce Butler dissented. This is an excerpt from the
majority opinion, written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
HOLMES, J., Opinion of the Court
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
274 U.S. 200
Buck v. Bell
ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA
No. 292 Argued: April 22, 1927 — Decided: May 2, 1927
Mr. JUSTICE HOLMES delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is a writ of error to review a judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeals of the State of Virginia
by which the defendant, the superintendent of the State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded,
was ordered to perform the operation of salpingectomy upon Carrie Buck, the plaintiff, for the pur-
pose of making her sterile.
Carrie Buck is a feebleminded white woman who was committed to the State Colony above mentioned
in due form. She is the daughter of a feebleminded mother in the same institution, and the mother
of an illegitimate feebleminded child. She was eighteen years old at the time of the trial of her case
in the Circuit Court, in the latter part of 1924. An Act of Virginia, approved March 20, 1924, recites
that the health of the patient and the welfare of society may be promoted in certain cases by the
sterilization of mental defectives; that the sterilization may be effected without serious pain or sub-
stantial danger to life; that many defective persons, if now discharged, would become a menace,
but, if incapable of procreating, might be discharged with safety and become self-supporting with
benefit to themselves and to society; and that experience has shown that heredity plays an impor-
tant part in the transmission of insanity and imbecility.
The judgment finds the facts that have been recited, and that Carrie Buck is
the probable potential parent of
socially inadequate offspring,
likewise afflicted, that she may be
sexually sterilized without detriment
to her general health, and that her
welfare and that of society will be
promoted by her sterilization.
It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to
let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from con-
tinuing their kind. Three generations of imbeciles are enough.
Source
Modified from Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927). Accessed 9 April 2013. http://www.law.cornell.edu/
supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0274_0200_ZO.html.

14. THINGS TO
THINK ABOUT
BIG HISTORY PROJECT / UNIT 5 INVESTIGATION 12
What is this map
telling you? Do you
notice any patterns?
TEXT 07
STERILIZATION LAWS IN
THE UNITED STATES
AS OF JANUARY 1, 1935
When the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Virginia’s sterilization law in the 1927 Buck v.
Bell decision, it paved the way for similar laws in other states. Historians estimate that
65,000 Americans were sterilized without consent under these laws. The map below
shows the states that had passed laws on mandatory sterilization by 1935, and the num-
ber of sterilizations performed by that time.
Source
“Legislative Status of Eugenical Sterilization in the United States” (1935). The Harry H. Laughlin Papers,
Truman State University.