To what extent did or did not Teddy Roosevelt believe in eugenics or other racist ideologies?

by [deleted]

I'm reading the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, and recently got into a debate with a friend about to what extent TR was racist. From the biography, it seems that he was not very prejudiced, but I'm worried about whether or not the biography is one sided, so I guess I'd like to know to what extent TR ascribed to these philosophies, as well as any opinions about The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, and if there are any other biographies I should read with it to give myself a more rounded perspective.

tayaravaknin

Hi!

I began my search with Spiro et al., who mention Roosevelt very briefly as a supporter of the notion of "superior and inferior races", and the idea of eugenics. However, obviously, this wasn't enough for me. I found, then, a letter from Theodore Roosevelt to a Mr. Charles Davenport, dated January 3rd, 1913, which said this:

I agree with you if you mean, as I suppose you do, that society has no business to permit degenerates to produce their kind. It is really extraordinary that our people refuse to apply to human beings such elementary knowledge as every successful farmer is obliged to apply to his own stock breeding.

Letter found here.

Now, I would hesitate to start applying willy-nilly terms to Roosevelt's morality, because that's presentism. You can't apply the values of today to the values of before and expect them to be the same, because of the differences over time. That said, Roosevelt was in favor (judging by this) of ensuring a sort of eugenics program whereby society inhibited those who were regarded "degenerates" from reproducing.

I was going to go into racism, but I don't have the time. Term paper coming up. Hopefully someone can answer that for you, or I'll go into it tomorrow!

Sources:

The Development and Impact of “Science”: The Role of Eugenics Defending the Master Race: Conservation, Eugenics, and the Legacy of Madison Grant by Jonathan Peter Spiro; Segregation’s Science: Eugenics and Society in Virginia by Gregory Michael Dorr Ronald H. Bayor Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Winter 2011), pp. 58-61

Human Eugenics: Whose Perception of Perfection? Parendi Mehta The History Teacher, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Feb., 2000), pp. 222-240