

Here, at the beginning of the 21st century, scientists worldwide are close to identifying the complete set of genetic directions that define the parameters of human life, health, and even behavior. Although it is easy to conceive of the Human Genome Project and genetic engineering as an entirely new epoch in scientific history, this is not our first large-scale involvement with human genetics. Our current rush into the "gene age" has striking parallels to the eugenics movement of the early decades of the 20th century. The story of America's embrace of eugenic engineering has been largely confined to historical archives and scholarly publications. The Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement provides students, teachers, scholars, and the interested public with an extraordinary window on this "hidden" chapter of history. The Archive was developed by the DNA Learning Center of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, with funding provided by the Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Eugenics was an effort to apply Mendel's laws to breed better human beings. Eugenicists encouraged people with "good" genetic stock to reproduce and discouraged people with "bad" stock. They wrongly assumed that single genes explained complex behaviors and mental illnesses. Eugenicists sought an exclusively genetic explanation of human development, neglecting the important contribution of the environment. Their flawed data were the basis for social legislation to separate racial and ethnic groups, restrict immigration from southern and eastern Europe, and sterilize people considered "genetically unfit." Elements of the American eugenics movement were models for the Nazis, whose radical adaptation of eugenics culminated in the Holocaust. However, in contrast to the obvious barbarity of Nazi practices, American eugenics was a more subtle perversion of a popular movement in health and "self-improvement." In the final analysis, eugenics reflected political and social prejudices rather than scientific fact. The Eugenics Archive is intended to stimulate independent critical thinking about the parallels between eugenics and modern genetics research. By providing access to the eugenicists' own words and "data," each user is challenged to assume the role of historian/researcher – searching for materials according to his/her own preferences and making personal evaluations. By focusing primarily on visual documents, it is hoped that the Archive will engage young people and others who would not normally access a scholarly collection. The Archive includes more than 1,200 materials, primarily from the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, which was the center of American Eugenics research from 1910-1940. The images illustrate many facets of eugenics endeavor, including "fitter families" competitions and family pedigree studies. Whenever possible, case materials are maintained in the order they were classified by the original owners – allowing Archive users to reconstruct meaning through the association of nearby documents.



Items were drawn from four major scholarly archives: American Philosophical Society Library, Rockefeller University Archive Center, Truman State University Archives, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Research Archives. In 1998, none of these archives had policies governing the release of their materials over the Internet, and this project marks the first large-scale release of items via the Internet by a second party. The Eugenics Archive makes no attempt to lead users to a "correct" interpretation of the materials. However, the site assists users in understanding the historical, social, political, and ethical context in which the American eugenics movement developed, flourished, and finally collapsed. Context is built into the Archive on two levels. First, users are encouraged to enter the site through a series of virtual exhibits, which introduce the key events, persons, and social conditions that contributed to the development of eugenics. Second, all images are sorted into more than 20 topic areas. Browsing by topic or searching by keyword returns a set of related images with extended captions. The topic captions are designed to help the user understand relationships among images and the relationship to the eugenics movement and society. Both levels were developed in collaboration with several leading historians of eugenics. At each level, users are reminded that the vast majority of what is presented as scientific "fact" by eugenicists was fundamentally flawed and has been discredited by modern research standards. The Eugenics Archive can serve as a model for other online projects on the history and social interpretation of modern science – especially those involving the release of sensitive documents. Six days of workshop sessions by a 14-member advisory panel over the two-year development period led to consensus on editorial policies to ensure that the Eugenics Archive: Protects the confidentiality of persons and medical information. Respects the dignity of different cultural, racial, and disabled groups. Balances authority, readability, and sensitivity. Provides adequate historical, social, and ethical context for lay persons to evaluate the images. Identifies incorrect, disproved, and pseudoscientific elements of eugenics.

