Listen: How Long Island became the ‘eugenics capital of the world’
In a new episode of "Color Code," STAT explores the history of a Long Island laboratory that became known as the eugenics capital of the world.
The study of eugenics wasn’t born on Long Island — it’s closer to say it went through puberty there. The idea of eugenics — a pseudoscience that promoted the idea that certain people or groups should be removed from the human gene pool — originated in England with Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin. Galton took the emerging ideas of evolution and genetics and attempted to apply them to human society. He believed that heredity was the primary driver of complex traits, like intelligence.
Early geneticists were convinced they could use genetics to reshape society to their ideals and believed that the human race could be improved through selective breeding. An early seat for eugenics in the U.S. was Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island. As the lab’s influence began to extend to the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court, and internationally, Cold Spring Harbor became known as the eugenics capital of the world.
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