Intelligence Tests and Immigration to the United States, 1900–1940

Garland E Allen, Washington University, St Louis, Missouri, USA

Published online: September 2006

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005612

Measuring innate (genetically determined) mental traits was a major part of the psychometric movement in the early decades of the twentieth century. Low test scores (given as an intelligence quotient, or IQ) were used by eugenicists to lobby in the US Congress for restricting immigration of those claimed to be genetically inferior in IQ.

Keywords: intelligence tests; immigration restriction act (Johnson–Reed act); Mendelian genetics; eugenics; feeblemindedness

 References
    Allen GE (1986) The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, 1910–1940: an essay in institutional history. Osiris (2nd Series): 225–264.
    book Allen GE (1987) "The role of experts in scientific controversy". In: Engelhardt TH Jr and Caplan AH (eds.) Scientific Controversies, pp. 169–202. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    book Brigham CC (1923) A Study of American Intelligence. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
    book Gould SJ (1996) The Mismeasure of Man, 2nd edn. New York: Cambridge University Press.
    book Lipmann W (1922). In: Block NJ and Gerald D (eds.) The IQ Controversy, pp. 4–44. New York: Pantheon Books.
    book Ludmerer K (1972) Genetics and American Society. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
    book Zenderland L (1998) Measuring Minds: Herbert Henry Goddard and the Origins of American Intelligence Testing. New York: Cambridge University Press.
 Further Reading
    book Haller M (1985) Eugenics: Hereditarian Attitudes in American Thought. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
    book Kevles DJ (1985) In the Name of Eugenics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
    book Paul D (1995) Controlling Human Heredity, 1865 to the Present, Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.
    book Selden S (1999) Inheriting Shame: The Story of Eugenics and Racism in America. New York: Teachers' College Press.

Related Sub-Topics:

Genetics of Intelligence and Cognition | History | Bioethics
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Article Title: Intelligence Tests and Immigration to the United States, 1900–1940
 
How to Cite close
Allen, Garland E(Sep 2006) Intelligence Tests and Immigration to the United States, 1900–1940. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005612]