The "science" called eugenics that Francis Galton had created in England would not receive mainstream attention beyond academic circles until it moved across the sea to the United States. A variety of factors -- a massive influx of of immigrants, a domestic migration of African Americans from the South to the North, urbanization, a huge increase in enrollment in public schools, a growing awareness of public health issues, the beginning of mass marketing -- would converge in the late 1800s and early 1900s to create a fertile environment for eugenics propaganda.



There were two approaches to the marketing of Eugenic ideas: positive eugenics and negative eugenics. Positive eugenics promoted increasing the reproduction of good types, while negative eugenics promoted decreasing reproduction of bad types. Posters showing the "ideal" man or woman as prime examples of the benefits of bringing eugenics theory into practice are classic instances of positive eugenics. Such rhetoric preyed on some basic human desires and insecurities. Another example of positive eugenics was the use of "Fitter Family" contests at state fairs (see SideNote). Eugenic "experts" would conduct interviews with families to determine the "merits" of their familial gene lines. The winners would receive an award and their photo might appear in the newspaper.

Negative eugenics preyed even more on people's insecurities. Using this approach, the poster, exhibit, pamphlet, etc., would concentrate on the inferior--the weak and "feebleminded"--as a menace to American society and values and a threat to the future well-being of our country. Those labeled "feebleminded" or "moronic" might be displayed as caricatures in posters or literature (see the images above-right).

The success of the marketing campaign of the early eugenics movement in the United States lay in the ability to reach people on a mass level. Staging exhibits at state fairs (like movie theaters or sporting events today, state fairs drew huge numbers of attendees) was an extremely effective way to communicate to the masses.