Sciencein the Progressive Era
Progresives commonly believed that through science and law, the growing problems within society could be fixed, such as chaos, crime, as well as the growing number of diagnoses of mental illness. Among doctors and scientists there was a strong faith in science and a firm belief of the success of their experiments and interventions. Since the goal of eugenics was to control and manipulate breeding in order to guarantee a superior race, it was classified as progress within the scientific realm, and therefore supported by many progressives. Dr. DeJarnette is reflective of that time period in the way in which he quickly supported the scientific evidence and agreed with Medel's Law and Galton's evidence. From the records, it does not appear he questioned the legitimacy of eugenics, but rather fully supported it.
Racismin the Progressive Era
Like previously stated, the Progressive Era was time of both progress and racial tension. Certain supporters of eugenics did not only want to rid future populations of mental illness and criminal activity, but also control racial relationships. Virginian Walter Plecker, a white supremacist and supporter of eugenics, was a vocal leader in this area of eugenics. Director of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Plecker helped draft and pass the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (same year that Virginia also legalized sterilization), which demanded every citizen of Virginia to be recorded at birth by his racial status, black or white. The One-Drop Rule was another component of the Racial Integrity Act. This declared that if a person had even one African-American person in their ancestry line, they were to be classified as black. These acts were part of a belief that interbreeding was hurting the collective intelligence of society. People like Plecker wanted to prevent inter-racial marriages and control who bred with who, all in efforts of breeding a superior race. This is just one example of the racist tensions and concerns that occurred within the Progressive Era as well as the eugenics movement. Given a number of racist lines in Dr. DeJarnette's "Mendel's Law" Poem, is arguable that Dr. DeJarnette shared these fears.
Supporters of the Eugenics Movement
Supporters of eugenics included a wide vareity of people, ranging from President Theodore Roosevelt, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Carnegie Institution, to the average white Anglo-Saxon Protestant middle- to upper-clas man. These people were the ones who often had the money and time to attend lectures and meetings about eugenics. Women also became involved, which was a unique opportunity that allowed them to not only join this worldwide conversation, but also particiapte in advocating for it.