Against Their Will: North Carolina’s Eugenics Program & In re Moore

Against Their Will: North Carolina’s Eugenics Program & In re Moore

From 1929 to 1977, the State of North Carolina, as part of its state sponsored eugenics program, sterilized over 7,600 people. Advocates of the program believed it presented a way to cleanse society of the mentally handicapped and mentally ill, in that sterilization prevented those considered "unfit" from having children. In this lesson, students will learn about North Carolina’s little known eugenics program, as well as explore the constitutionality of state mandated sterilization by reviewing the NC Supreme Court case, In re Moore. Students will culminate this lesson by making recommendations on how the state should make amends for the eugenics program’s past controversial actions, as well as examine actual consolation recommendations recently made by North Carolina’s General Assembly.

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Essential Questions: 
What is eugenics and during what years did North Carolina operate a state eugenics program?
What was the role of North Carolina’s Eugenics Board/Commission?
What argument did proponents of eugenics make?
What were the circumstances and Court’s decision in the US Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell?
What were the circumstances and Court’s decision in the NC Supreme Court case In re Moore?
How should the State of North Carolina compensate for its past support of the eugenics program today?