TitleDateAuthor(s)PublisherLvlTypeEugenics 0-5Evolution 0-5
Elements of Biology1907Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSPhylogenetic00 None beyond that implied by the phylogenetic structure.
First Course in Biology*1908Bailey, L. H.; Coleman, Walter MMacmillan, New YorkHSPhylogenetic01 Some content on evolution - which text equates with progress and complexity - integrated into sections on reptiles and bacteria, similar to Smallwood (except 1920).
Applied Biology1911Bigelow, Maurice A; Bigelow, Anna NMacmillan, New YorkHSUnity of Life05 Though presented at the end of the text, provides a thorough and surprisingly modest explanation of the topic of evolution.
Essentials of Biology1911Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSPhylogenetic1 Domestication and selective breeding introduced at end of Zoology section.2 Introduces evolution, including human evolution. Very Lamarckian. No Darwin.
Elementary Biology: Plant, Animal, Human1912Peabody, James Edward; Hunt, Arthur EllsworthMacmillan, New YorkHSPhylogenetic01 None beyond that implied by the phylogenetic structure.
Biology1914Calkins, GaryHolt, New York
A Civic Biology1914Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSEconomic4 Strongly eugenic, refers to the "feeble-minded" as parasites, that "blood tells," that there are clearly good families and bad families, and regarding bad families, save for our "humanity" we would "kill them off to prevent them from spreading" (263). However, conclusion less doctrinaire.3 An amalgam of Lamarckian and Darwinian ideas, used the word evolution, but consigned Darwin to support "improvement" of plants, animals and humans (253).
Practical Biology1916Smallwood, W. M; Reveley, Ida L; Bailey, Guy AAllyn and Bacon, BostonHSPhylogenetic02 Evolution indexed. Darwin bio (30) includes references to both Origins and Descent.
Civic Biology1918Hodge, Clifton F. and Dawson, JeanGinn, BostonHSEconomic4 Strongly eugenic. Directly links evolution to eugenics and boldly promotes the critical need to prevent the "feeble-minded" ‰ÛÒ 1 in 30 Americans, according to the authors ‰ÛÒ from reproducing (344-45).3 Offers reasonable description of evolution, but only as a set up to genetic and eugenic management.
Elementary Biology: An Introduction to the Science of Life1919Gruenberg, Benjamin CGinn, BostonHSUnity of Life1 Very mildly eugenic.4 Clear in its presentation of theory. Cautionary in promotion of application.
Biology for High Schools1920Smallwood, W. M; Reveley, Ida L; Bailey, Guy AAllyn and Bacon, BostonHSPhylogenetic1 Mildly suggests students "take care" in selecting mates so that the inherited tendency toward "industry and thrift" are passed on to children.0 Evolution not indexed. Darwin bio not present in text (only Smallwood to omit). Weak presentation of human evolution. Confused presentation of natural selection.
Biology for Beginners1921Moon, Truman JHolt, New YorkHSPhylogenetic1 Implies racial progress.3 Indexed. Reasonable description. Note: strongly links organic and cultural evolution.
Foundations of Biology1922Woodruff, Lorande Loss (M) Yale BioMacmillan, New YorkC1 Cautionary. '37 edition includes important anti-eugenic statement. See pp. 407-09.
Civic and Economic Biology1922Atwood, Wm. HP. Blakiston's, Philadelphia HSEconomic5 Harshly eugenic. Contains the most shocking defense, summed up by this quote: "One of the reasons why Greece, Rome, and the other great nations of antiquity perished is that they violated the principles of eugenics. If our nation is to live its people must be of the best, and their blood must not be contaminated by that of the unfit. What is your state doing to improve the next generation?" (337).4 Complete by standards of the day, though highly progressionist, focused toward improvement. Labeled "The Doctrine of Evolution." Compare to era's best, Bigelow 1911.
New Essentials of Biology1923Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSPhylogenetic1 Identical to Hunter 1911.2 Identical to Hunter 1911.
The Biology of Man and Other Organisms1923Linville, Henry RHarcourt, New YorkHSNormative4 Strongly eugenic in its demands for "social control of inheritance" (178), though structure mitigates narrative force, climaxing with calls for correct posture, exercise and proper diet.4 Evolution strongly presented, though its position at the end of zoology section telegraphs a progressionist rather than unity of life ideology.
Biology of Home and Community1923Trafton, Gilbert HMacmillan, New YorkHSEconomic0 No eugenics, despite focus on domestication and species improvement.4 Excellent, extensive treatment of topic. Unusual for its day. Downplays natural selection somewhat in favor of mutations - typical.
Living Things, An Elementary Biology1924Clement, Arthur GIroquois Publishing Co, Syracuse, NYHSEconomic4 Eugenics serves as closing statement, after plant and animal breeding. Talks of hard costs to society of bad heredity: Jukes and Kallikaks.2 Natural selection, adaptation, Darwin credited for theory, evolution indexed, reference to Origins.
Biology and Human Welfare1924Peabody, James Edward; Hunt, Arthur EllsworthMacmillan, New YorkHSEconomic5 Harshly prescriptive. Heritage and habits of equal importance.1 Darwin (along with Agassiz and Pasteur) introduced early as great biologists, but no mention of evolution.
New Biology1924Smallwood, W. M; Reveley, Ida L; Bailey, Guy AAllyn and Bacon, BostonHSPhylogenetic2 Text is generally descriptive not prescriptive. Little or no content on habits, posture, mate selection, trade selection.2 Indexed and woven into the text, carefully so as not to offend. Word 'evolution' used just once, and oddly. Darwin bio edited.
Living Things, An Elementary Biology1925Clement, Arthur GIroquois Publishing Co, Syracuse, NYHSEconomic4 Eugenics serves as closing statement, after plant and animal breeding. Talks of hard costs to society of bad heredity: Jukes and Kallikaks.1 Natural selection remains from 1924 (but as before, only as support for selective breeding. 'Evolution' removed from index. Darwin bio edited.
Biology and Human Life1925Gruenberg, Benjamin CGinn, BostonHSEconomic4 Suggests intelligent control of reproduction via enlightened institutionalization is the only path to more advanced civilization.3 Accurate, anti-progressionist description of natural selection (536) with meaning of "fittest" strongly disclaimed.
Life and Evolution1926Holmes, Samual Jackson (M) University of CaliforniaHarcourt, New YorkC5 - Propogandistic. See pp 411-427. Book's final and climatic chapter. Note particularly citations on 427.
New Civic Biology1926Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSEconomic5 Harshly eugenic and deterministic. "Our knowledge of heredity" underscored promotion of natural personal limits - with students suited for the professions, commercial life or the trades relative to their inborn traits (402).3 No different in effect or content than Hunter 1914, despite edits made to satisfy post-Scopes publishing concerns (e.g. 'evolution' became 'development').
An Introduction to Biology1926Kinsey, Alfred CLippincott, ChicagoHSUnity of Life2 Asks students in one exercise to find stories on Jukes, Kallikaks, Darwin and Edwards families. Does not index eugenics, but has a deterministic thrust. "There are really very few of us who have the necessary heredities to make good Presidents of the United States" (174).3 Defends the use of the word 'evolution' (196-97), but focuses on 'sports' and artificial selection. No theory. Evolution not indexed.
Biology for Beginners1926Moon, Truman JHolt, New YorkHSPhylogenetic1 Implies racial progress, but does not cover eugenic language.3 Nearly identical to Moon 1921.
Modern Biology: Its Human Aspects1926Waggoner, Harry DwightD. C. Heath, BostonHSPhylogenetic / Unity of Life hybrid4 Harsh, though typical for the decade ... comparable to Atwood (1927). Quote: "A high class human family can retain its excellence only so long as the marriages of its members are with individuals of the same type. Marriages with lower types can result only in a deterioration in the sum total of desirable family qualities" (347).1 Closes with a short paragraph on the "Law of Development" and the words "Organic Evolution," but makes no mention of the topic elsewhere in the text.
Biology1927Atwood, Wm. HP. Blakiston's, Philadelphia HSEconomic4 Less harsh than Atwood 1922. However, eugenics presented as a climax to the text and a key focus of biology.
The Laws of Living Things1927Menge, Edward J.The Bruce Publishing Company, MilwaukeeHSPhylogenetic w/ some hyrid elements0 Eugenics not indexed, and despite devoting a chapter to "Civic Biology," Menge does not touch on the topic at all.* 4 Strong 10-page section. Promotes Lamarck-Darwin-DeVries. Touches on sesitivities but suggests acceptance
Elements of Modern Biology1929Plunkett, Charles RobertHenry Holt and Company, New YorkC0 No mention
New General Biology1929Smallwood, W. M; Reveley, Ida L; Bailey, Guy AAllyn and Bacon, BostonHSPhylogenetic2 Nearly identical to Smallwood 1924.2 Indexed and woven into the text, carefully so as not to offend. 'Development' substituted for 'evolution' in text. 'Evolution' still in Darwin bio. Bio includes concluding paragraph from Origins (between 648-649).
Advanced Biology1929Wheat, Frank M.; Fitzpatrick, Elizabeth TAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSUnity of Life4 Significant matter-of-fact 15-page mid-text section, sandwiched between chapters on "Plant and Animal Breeding" and "Progressive Development" (aka evolution). However, surprisingly non-deterministic. Authors believe environmental improvements, such as the eight-hour day, better tenement and housing conditions, public playgrounds for city children, compulsory education, laborers' compensation laws, widows' pensions, child labor laws and vocational guidance and training" could all lead to "race improvement" (362-64).*5 Significant, detailed 20-page section. Though typical Lamarck-Darwin-DeVries layout.
College Biology1930Barrows, Henry R. d. 1935 (M) New York UniversityRichard R. Smith, New YorkC4 Propogandistic. Chapter XVIII - Applied Genetics - ends with subsection on Eugenics. Somewhat edited in 1936.
Problems in Biology1931Hunter, George WilliamAmerican Book Company, New YorkHSEconomic4 Retains all the harsh language of Hunter 1926, but argument no longer as clearly presented.3 More explicitly links general evolution ('development') and human evolution. No clear expression of theory.
Essentials of Biology1931Meier, W. H. D; Meier, LoisGinn, BostonHSPhylogenetic2 Though it closes with eugenics, the text contains no supporting argument.0 No mention of evolution, even as bridging material.
Fundamentals of Biology1932Haupt, Arthur W (M) UCLAC4 Propogandistic.
General Biology1933White, E. Grace (F) Wilson College BioThe C. V. Mosby Company, St. LouisC5 Propogandistic. See pp 270-2833 Clearly a "Darwin in eclipse" text. The word evoltuion not indexed or used in texts. But from page 316 to 326 discusses Lamarck, Darwin, Weismann and DeVries
An Introduction to Biology1933Cole, Elbert C.John Wiley & Sons, New YorkC4 Deterministic. Jukes, Kallikaks and Edwards all offered without disclaimer.Dismissive of improvements to environment, as "there is certainly a limit ot such improvement, for inverior stock is scarecely qualified to maintain an improved environment." Laments, "we are somewhat restricted in what can be done, for society will not permit the destruction of the weak and unfit" (478).
Dynamic Biology1933Baker, Arthur O; Mills, Lewis HRand McNally, New YorkHSNormative (weakly)3 Standard 1930s presentation comparing Juke and Kallikak families with Edwards family. Warns of close intermarriages and immigrants of "defective stock" (655).3 Does not index word 'evolution." But closes with reasonable description of historical evolution and theory. Disclaims Darwin in favor of De Vries. Not unusual for the era.
New Introduction to Biology1933Kinsey, Alfred CLippincott, ChicagoHSUnity of Life2 Does not index eugenics. Retains Juke etc. exercise and deterministic tone of Kinsey 1926.3 'Evolution' introduced in index and treatment slightly expanded. Kinsey not current - labels natural selection "Darwinism" or "Survival of the Fittest" (431).
The Living World1933Mank, Helen GardnerBenj. H. Sanborn & Co, ChicagoHSUnity of Life / Health01 Natural selection, but no Darwin.
Biology for Beginners1933Moon, Truman J; Mann, Paul BHolt, New YorkHSPhylogenetic3 Introduces genetics and eugenics, including H. H. Goddard's Kallikak study.4 Expands treatment relative to 1926, though substitutes "racial development" for evolution
Man and the Nature of His Biological World1934Jean, Frank Covert (M); Harrah, Ezra Clarence (M); Herman, Fred Louis (M); Colorado State College of Education and Powers, Samual Ralph (M) ColumbiaGinn, BostonC5. Entire narrative leads to the eugenic climax. Influenced by Burlingame (1922). Closes with "Hereditary differences should always have weight in deciding one's vocation" (426). Authors would update text in '44 and '52. Very conscious of latest stats and confirming opinion, including reference to Villee '50 in '52 Jean.
Biology for Today1934Curtis, Francis D; Caldwell, Otis W; Sherman, Nina HenryGinn, BostonHSUnity of Life2 Strong pitch for eugenic awareness closes text, but avoids harsher prescriptions of many earlier and most competitors.2 Difficult to judge. No mention of Darwin. Word 'evolution' not used. But concept fully integrated into reproduction, genetics and "The Record of the Ages" (576-650).
New Biology1934Smallwood, W. M; Reveley, Ida L; Bailey, Guy AAllyn and Bacon, BostonHSPhylogenetic3 Introduces Juke and Kallikak studies. Along with Edwards, Darwin and Bach.3 Strong presentation relative to earlier versions, integrated paleontology, heredity, and human ancestry.
An Introduction to Biology1935Rice, Edward Loranus (M) Ohio Wesleyan University Bio Debated Bryan in '25, advised Darrow at ScopesGinn, BostonCCautionary. 1. "Progress must be gradual and conservative" (564)
Biology1935Fitzpatrick, Frederick L; Horton, Ralph EHoughton Mifflin, BostonHSEconomic4 Proudly eugenic. Closes on the topic. However, remains strictly economic, not normative, throughout.5 Strongest presentation of evolution in any American high school textbook until BSCS, complete and fully integrated, yet does not index or use the word!