What a Eugenicist Ought to Know: Eugenic Advice in American Marriage Manuals, 1900-1940

This poster examines the ways in which American marriage manuals educated white middle-class Americans about eugenics between 1900 and 1945. While the historiography of sexual education often examines the popularity of marriage manuals in the first half of the twentieth century as a sign of increased sexual liberation, they also served as a form of eugenic social control. Following in the footsteps of contemporary historians of eugenics, I explore how eugenic thought influenced popular culture and widely available education, not just legal and intellectual spheres. I argue that marriage manuals served as an intentional vehicle for eugenicists to circulate eugenic thought to a wider audience. Furthermore, I also argue that marriage manuals encouraged their audience to select a spouse based on eugenic logic, providing advice on who should and who should not reproduce. To do so, I use two major source bases: a survey of around 100 marriage manuals and archival research on prominent authors of this literature. In particular, I examine the pedagogical techniques and advice used to encourage Americans to voluntarily breed in the name of eugenic progress. I also examine which traits/disabilities were presented as eugenically unfit for marriage and the way in which they were described. Ultimately, this poster hopes seeks to show the historical intersections of sexual education, eugenics, and disability.

To showcase this research, my poster will examine a few key marriage manuals and explore the ways they promoted eugenic thinking. I will select the marriage manuals that both a) are exemplars of larger trends and b) have easily presentable images and short quotes ideal for a poster. I will explore how each of these exemplar manuals show larger trends and change over time.