One aspect of American history that might shock you is that the same eugenics movement used by the Nazis to justify the extermination of 'inferior' races was actually originated by Americans. A wave of scientists used dubious scientific methods to justify the notion of sterilizing folks for the good of society as a whole. Such notions, while abhorent today, were VERY popular during the eugenics movement in the early 20th century...and these notions led to forced sterilizations of various groups of people. This show is about the history of this sick movement and shows the evolution of this sick pseudo-scientific thought.

Like nearly all episodes of "The American Experience", this one is constructed using interviews with various experts today combined with photos, film footage and evocative music....and comes off as expertly crafted...even if the subject matter is repellent. Well made...captivating....and incredibly sad.

One aspect of this episode I really appreciated was how it spared no one. It mentioned how many churches and politicians were behind the movement as well as folks still admired today, such as Margaret Sanger and WEB DuBois. In other words, the show seemed more interested in telling the true story instead of any political agenda. Overall, captivating and horrifying at the same time. Well made and worth seeing...though it is NOT something I'd show to children.

Scientists had long investigated the mechanics and statistical probabilities of simple heredity (see Gregor Mendel's copious documentation on the basic traits handed down through generations of peas). Farmers had long practiced artificial selection for the improvement of agriculture. Botanists, physicians, and biologists had worked to eliminate diseases and disorders through the discovery of therapeutic compounds. The merging of these three domains created the terrifying field of eugenics: the science of improving humanity through sterilization and euthanasia.

Were it not for the discrediting of the field by outspoken scientists, we might still be living in the dystopia shown in this documentary. Even former eugenicists had to eat crow to crack the foundations of this insidious programme. A few outrageous legal cases brought to light the shameful practice of sterilization. And finally the horrors of the Holocaust followed eugenics to its logical conclusion: large scale euthanasia and genocide.

It's is a cautionary tale. We have no guarantee that today's promise of genetic engineering will not produce an equally disastrous outcome again.