Abstract

In her 2001 book Building a Better Race, Wendy Kline argues that the end of World War II did not spell the demise of eugenics; instead, proponents of eugenics were flexible enough to adapt, increasingly emphasizing “positive eugenics” and social responsibility. When the earlier attempt at quarantine failed, with a leakage of “immorality” to white, middle-class women, eugenicists moved on to another public health–focused metaphor, that of preventive medicine. Emphasizing nurture as well as nature preserved the end goal of promoting what Kline refers to as “reproductive morality.” Concern with the “quality of future generations” made motherhood “a political act”, with...