In October 2023, Donald Trump stirred controversy by claiming that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” He repeated this claim on multiple occasions with alternate words but the same meaning. Such language evokes a troubling history of white supremacy and eugenics; concepts which suggest that a distinct racial or ethnic group is inherently more desirable and to prescribe selective advantages to it through social and or state policies.

Eugenics is a theory positing that selective breeding in human populations can produce more desirable outcomes than chance. Although ethnocentric pride and prejudice have ancient histories, the formal pseudoscience of eugenics became well defined in 1883 by the work of Sir Francis Galton, who was influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection and Gregor Mendel’s genetic discoveries.

Galton’s work centered on identifying and promoting “desirable” traits within human populations with specific social policies. He theorized that intelligence, especially that of the English upper class, was hereditary and should be preserved through selective breeding.

The popularity of eugenics progressed in the early 20th century, with academic support in both Europe and the United States. This led to its widespread acceptance in various fields from medicine to public policy. Eugenics was presented as a scientific and ethical justification for strategies aimed at advancing human societies by eliminating for breeding purposes traits deemed undesirable.

The ideology of eugenics reached its zenith under Adolf Hitler’s regime where it was central to his concept of Aryan superiority. Upon coming to power in 1933, Hitler enacted laws designed to purify the German population and focused on “racial hygiene.” These measures included the forced sterilization of individuals deemed “unfit.” These attributes included, but were not limited to mental inferiority, physical deformity and sexual aberrations. By 1939, approximately 320,000 men, women and children had been forcibly sterilized. The ideology went even further as Jews, Romani and others deemed inferior or a threat to racial purity were systematically incarcerated or killed.

It is tempting to view Nazi Germany’s racial purity policies as an aberration, but the United States has its own dark history. Racial superiority theories were long used to justify slavery, segregation and the forced displacement of Native Americans (see especially President Andrew Jackson). In 1907, Indiana became the first American state to pass a law mandating sterilization for the “unfit.” A Eugenic Society under H.G. Osborn formed to “scientifically” investigate the issue and published many of its fundamental theories. In 1923, Osborn stated he wished to protect American society by “barring the entrance of those unfit to share in the duties and responsibilities of our well-founded Government. … There is little promise in the melting-pot theory … give me pure blood. … The rule of the state is to safeguard the health and morals of its people.”

Thirty states adopted eugenics laws. In 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Virginia’s sterilization laws to prevent “hereditary degeneracy.” By mid-century, more than 60,000 Americans had been forcibly sterilized with “the undesirable traits of pauperism, mental disability, criminality, promiscuity and deformity.”

In addition, by 1900, America was being overwhelmed by a tide of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe leading to unrest and crime in the overcrowded cities. In 1910, The Eugenics Record Office (ERO) was formed “To improve the national, physical, mental and temperamental qualities of the human family,” and “to remove the unfit from the blood of America by sterilization or confinement.” The growing fear of foreign influence led to the Immigration Act of 1924. Leading proponents like Osborn argued that only “pure” blood could preserve America’s values. This sentiment was shared widely, and eugenic policies were endorsed even by some Christian leaders as fulfilling a divine command to “improve” the population.

So, when current politicians invoke the idea of “purity” or claim that certain groups are “polluting” the national identity, it dangerously echoes the eugenics-based rhetoric of the past. Donald Trump’s comments about “poisoning the blood” of the nation can be seen as a revival of these ideologies intentionally or not. The implications of such language are deeply unsettling as history has demonstrated how powerful and destructive these ideas can be when embraced by the state or influential figures. Policies which sanitize our history in schools is a first step toward ignorance of our past.

The legacy of eugenics serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by ideologies that value certain lives above others. When political rhetoric begins to echo these ideas, it is our responsibility to resist and to remember the consequences of complacency. We must ensure that history’s darker chapters do not repeat and that no group in society is treated as a “threat” to national purity or identity.

Donald Trump may have no understanding of history or eugenics but many of his coterie do. We also have too many of our citizens who support and advocate “white nationalism” or “exceptionalism.” We certainly need none in positions of power. Be wary! Be on guard for unintended consequences!

Hubbard C. Goodrich is a Harpswell resident.