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Hereditary Disorders

Although Mendel’s laws were first rigorously tested in pea plants and fruit flies, evidence quickly mounted that they applied to all living things. Early in the 20th century, the first examples of recessive, dominant, and sex-linked inheritance were found in humans. Recessive inheritance was first revealed in alkaptonuria (1902), an enzyme deficiency that leads to cartilage degeneration, and albinism (1903). Dominant inheritance was discovered in brachydactyly (short fingers, 1905), congenital cataracts (1906), and Huntington’s chorea (1913). And sex-linked inheritance was discovered in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (1913), red-green color blindness (1914), and hemophilia (1916).

Eugenicists made early contributions to our understanding of some of these disorders by constructing pedigrees of affected families. However, these disorders have easily definable symptoms (phenotypes) and are caused by single genes. Eugenicists were wrong to use simple Mendelian schemes to explain complex disorders and traits, whose phenotypes are difficult to define and which are now known to involve multiple genes or are influenced by the environment.

Eugenicists were especially concerned about hereditary blindness, because the institutionalized blind were considered a burden to society. The ophthamologist Lucien Howe conducted a study on hereditary blindness for the American Medical Association and lobbied for legislation to restrict the marriage of blind persons. Eugenicists considered epilepsy an inherited disorder, and many states sterilized epileptics to prevent its spread. This was another of the eugenicists’ misinformed stands — epilepsy’s causes are still not fully understood.

Today, we know of more than 5,000 single gene disorders in humans. Modern medicine views each disorder as discretely inherited; the inheritance of one disorder is unrelated to the inheritance of another disorder. Eugenics viewed disabilities as related symptoms of “bad stock.” Though eugenicists believed that immorality or poor living habits were inherited, they also thought that “degenerate” traits were inherited together. Eugenicists were generally less concerned about the people affected by genetic disorders than about the threat such people posed to the purity of the national “germ plasm.”

A.L. Treadwell, Vassar College, letter to Eugenics Record Office, about student pedigree of deafness and insanity (”queerness”)

Field worker report on dementia praecox (schizophrenia) at King’s Park Hospital, by Laura Teitelbaum

Family tree folder recording inheritance of asthma

“A family with cancer. Mother and six children died of cancer,” pedigree and family history of stomach cancer
Family-tree folder recording inheritance of allergies,
longevity, civic leadership, and other traits

Single-trait sheet recording inheritance of “civic leadership, combined with religious leadership”

Single-trait sheet recording inheritance of “allergies (eczema, asthma, skin disruptions, etc.)”

Single-trait sheet recording inheritance of longevity

Blindness pedigree from the records of the Perkins Institution

Congenital cataract pedigree

“An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to prevention of hereditary blindness”, New York State Senate

“Harvard scientist wants married couples bonded,” by Sam Smith, Boston Sunday Post

“Reasons for a study of hereditary blindness,” report to American Medical Association

“The control by law of hereditary blindness”

“The Howe Laboratory of Opthalmology,” Eugenical News

National Committee for the Prevention of Blindness

Albinism pedigree by Charles Davenport

Lamellar cataract pedigree by London Medical Office

Hemophilia pedigree by Dr. Bess Lloyd

Cost of caring for 27 blind pupils at Missouri school

Opthamologists responses to survey seeking support for hereditary blindness law

Owen Adair letter to Oregon physicians, about bill requiring doctor’s certification for marriage license

“Concerning a law to lessen hereditary blindness,” by Lucien Howe, American Opthalmological Society Journal
Lucien Howe letter to Harry Laughlin, about AMA study on hereditary blindness

“The relation of hereditary eye defects to genetics and eugenics,” by Lucien Howe, JAMA

Eugenics Record Office and AMA survey about hereditary blindness

Table of schools for the blind and costs per pupil, AMA/Eugenics Record Office study

“Number of blind in several states,” AMA and Eugenics Record Office study

Lucien Howe letter to Harry Laughlin about Mendel’s Centennial

Lucien Howe response to Charles Davenport and Harry Laughlin, about sterilization, marriage and blindness

Harry Laughlin response to Lucien Howe about immigration and blindness prevention

AMA/Eugenics Record Office survey about hereditary blindness

Eugenics field workers meeting notes about hereditary behavior

“The increase of criminals, mental defectives, epileptics and degenerates,” Report of the Commission
Epilepsy references

“Inheritance of specific iso-agglutinins in the human blood”

“The Catlin Mark, the inheritance of an unusual opening in the parietal bones”
Heredity of harelip and cleft palate

“Heredity in epilepsy,” Fig. 31

“’Cretinous’ dwarf, representing the achondroplastic, short-legged type,”

“Multiple neurofibromatosis and its inheritance,” by S. A. Preiser and C. B. Davenport, Eugenics Record Office

“A bibliography of hereditary eye defects,” by L. Howe
Pedigree: “Familial aniridia”

“Family pedigree showing hereditary cataract”

“Blond Indians of the Darien jungle,” by R.O. Marsh, World’s Work
Photos of albino Indians of Panama, submitted by R.O. Marsh to the Eugenics Record Office

“Muscular atrophy,” flash cards on genetic defects
“Cretinism,” flash cards on genetic defects
“Mongolian idiocy,” flash cards on genetic defects
“Feeble-mindness,” flash cards on genetic defects
“Spastic idiocy,” flash cards on genetic defects
“Savant idiocy,” flash card on genetic defects
“Mania depressus,” flash card on genetic defects
“Paranoia,” flash card on genetic defects
Three giants with pedigree and notes, circus acts
Lion man and woman, circus acts
“Baby Doll and The Three Fat Brothers”, circus acts
Three midgets, with notes, circus acts
Dwarves and midgets, with notes, circus acts
Alice Bounds (Bear Lady) and Mother, with notes, circus acts
Robert Wadlow, New York Times, giantism
“Paul Herold, giant,”
Londy Waigener, the tallest lady in the world
“Mary Bevan and her children,” acromegaly
“Mary Ann Bevan, the world’s ugliest woman,” acromegaly
“Dwarf and related normal chickens”
Mme. Abomah, giantism
C. Davenport response to B. Winslow, about various conditions — dwarfism
“Toney, alligator skin boy, Dreamland Circus side show, Coney Island,” with icthyosis a skin trait
“Susi, the elephant skin girl,” about icthyosis, skin trait
“Heredity of albinism, by C.B. Davenport”
C. Davenport letter to R. Roy, about albinism
Roy Family pedigree, about albinism
R. Roy letter to C. Davenport, about albinism
G. Huber letter to C. Davenport, about albinism
R. Roy and J. Kuhn letter to C. Davenport, about albinism
C. Davenport response to R. Roy, about albinism
C. Metz letter to H. Laughlin, about albinism
H. Laughlin letter to C. Metz, about albinism
H. Laughlin letter to Walsh, about albinism
Family affected by albinism
“Miss Lillian the albino”
“King C. Roy,” about albinism
Pedigree and photo of polydactyly, by Morris Steggerda
L. Snyder letter to C. Davenport, about polydactyly
“Lionel, half man half lion. At dreamland circus side show, coney island, N.Y.”
“The Story of My Life by Lionel, the Human Lion,” about hypertrichosis
Bearded woman with hypertrichosis
“The effect of orthodactyly”
“ Osawatomie State Hospital: case no. 12198. Diagnosis: psychosis with Huntington’s chorea”
Pedigree:” Osawatomie State Hospital: case no. 10246. Diagnosis: psychosis with Huntington’s chorea”
“State institutions making special provisions for epileptics — 1917”
“Pedigree of color blindness”
Huntington’s chorea pedigree
“A North Dakota dwarf and his sister”
Two boys with polydactyly.
“Heredity of the eye,” 3rd International Eugenics Conference
“The manner of inheritance of a sex-linked trait. Actual pedigree of hemophilia,” 3rd International Eugenics Conference
Letchworth Village “freak show”, 3rd International Eugenics Conference
“Clinic in human heredity” proposal by H. Laughlin
“Sample clinical cases” that can be used in eugenics research
Letter asking about heredity of cleft lip and palate
“Indiana Society for Mental Hygiene Bulletin No. 7” (July 1920), statistics on mental illness and feeblemindedness in institutions around the U.S.
Burmese dwarf at Ellis Island (Photograph by Augustus Sherman)
Russian giant at Ellis Island (Photograph by Augustus Sherman)
“Unfit Human Traits” and “Triangle of Life.”
Feebleminded girl, “The leading lady in the play. Quite a good actor but pretty low grade.”
Feebleminded girl, “A good looking well built girl. Tests about 8 mentally. Was picked up for prostitution...”
Feebleminded girl, “Not uncomely but awfully dumb.”
People (April 1931) news items: disputed quote by President Herbert Hoover, Senate tesitmony on birth control, use of eye color inheritance in courts
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/html/eugenics/static/themes/1.html

We need to get back our healthcare. This won’t happen today or tomorrow but they’ve done it once, that we know of, one can see how it could happen again and broaden their “defects”.