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The U.S. and the Holocaust

The Rise of Eugenics in America

By the early 1900s, many white Americans embraced a pseudo-science called eugenics.

Aired 09/19/2022 | Rating TV-14

FromKen Burns

The U.S. and the Holocaust

The Rise of Eugenics in America

Clip: Episode 1 | 5m 54sVideo has Closed Captions

By the early 1900s, many white Americans embraced a pseudo-science called eugenics.

By the early 1900s, many white protestant Americans came to fear they were about to be outnumbered and outbred by immigrants and their offspring. They embraced a new pseudo-science born in Britain, called eugenics. It falsely claimed you could eliminate everything from poverty and prostitution to disabilities if you stopped the individuals they dismissed as “socially defective” from reproducing.

Aired 09/19/2022 | Rating TV-14

FromKen Burns

Corporate funding provided by Bank of America. Major funding provided by David M. Rubenstein; the Park Foundation; the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation; Gilbert S. Omenn and Martha A....

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