Theodore Lothrop Stoddard (June 29, 1883 – May 1, 1950) was an American historian, journalist, political scientist and white supremacist. Stoddard wrote several books which advocated

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

, Nordicism, and

scientific racism Scientific racism, sometimes termed biological racism, is the pseudoscience, pseudoscientific belief that the Human, human species is divided into biologically distinct taxa called "race (human categorization), races", and that empirical evi ...

, including '' The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy'' (1920). He advocated a racial hierarchy which he believed needed to be preserved through

anti-miscegenation laws Anti-miscegenation laws are laws that enforce racial segregation at the level of marriage and intimate relationships by criminalizing interracial marriage sometimes, also criminalizing sex between members of different races. In the United Stat ...

. Stoddard's books were once widely read both inside and outside the United States. He was a member of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

, where his books were recommended reading. He was also a member of the American Eugenics Society as well as a founding member and board member of the American Birth Control League, which would later become the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Stoddard's work influenced the Nazi government of Germany. His book ''The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under-man'' (1922) may have introduced the term '' Untermensch'' (the German translation of "Under-man") into Nazi discussions of race. He traveled as a journalist in Germany during the first months of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, during which he received preferential treatment for interviews with Nazi officials and met briefly with

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

. After the war, Stoddard's writing faded from popularity.

Early life and education

Stoddard was born in

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, the son of John Lawson Stoddard, a prominent writer and lecturer, and his wife Mary H. Stoddard. In 1900 he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

to fight in the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

and was commissioned to the

signal corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

. Following his military stint, Stoddard attended

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

, graduating ''magna cum laude'' in 1905, and studied law at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

until 1908. Stoddard received a Ph.D. in

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1914.

Career

Stoddard was a member of the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

, the American Political Science Association, and the Academy of Political Science. In 1923, an exposé by '' Hearst's International'' revealed that Stoddard was a member of the

(KKK), and had been acting as a consultant to the organization. A letter from the KKK to members had praised ''The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy'' in explicitly racial terms. Stoddard privately dismissed the Hearst magazine as a "radical-Jew outfit".

Views

Stoddard wrote many books, most of them related to race and civilization. He wrote primarily on the alleged dangers posed by "

colored ''Colored'' (or ''coloured'') is a racial descriptor historically used in the United States during the Jim Crow era to refer to an African American. In many places, it may be considered a slur. Dictionary definitions The word ''colored'' wa ...

" peoples to white civilization. Many of his books and articles were racialist and described what he saw as the peril of nonwhite

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

. He develops this theme in '' The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy'' originally published in 1920 with an introduction by Madison Grant. He presents a view of the world situation pertaining to race and focusing concern on the coming population explosion among the non-white peoples of the world and the way in which "white world-supremacy" was being lessened in the wake of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the collapse of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

. In the book, Stoddard blames the

ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism in social science and anthropology—as well as in colloquial English discourse—means to apply one's own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge other cultures, practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people, instead o ...

of the German "Teutonic imperialists" for the outbreak of World War I. President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

mentioned the book during a 1921 speech in Birmingham, Alabama, saying that America's race problem was only the beginning of what would soon become a worldwide race problem. Stoddard argued that race and heredity were the guiding factors of history and civilization and that the elimination or absorption of the "white" race by "colored" races would result in the destruction of Western civilization. Like Madison Grant in '' The Passing of the Great Race'', Stoddard divided the white race into three main divisions: "Nordic", "Alpine", and "Mediterranean". He considered all three to be of good stock and far above the quality of the colored races, but argued that the " Nordic" was the greatest of the three, and needed to be preserved by way of eugenics. He considered most Jews to be racially "Asiatic" and argued for restricting Jewish immigration because he considered them a threat to Nordic racial purity in the US. He warned that the United States was being "invaded by hordes of immigrant Alpines and Mediterraneans, not to mention Asiatic elements like Levantines and Jews." Stoddard's racist beliefs were especially hostile to

black people Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

. He claimed that they were fundamentally different from other groups, they had no civilizations of their own, and had contributed nothing to the world. Stoddard opposed miscegenation, and said that "crossings with the negro are uniformly fatal". In ''The Revolt Against Civilization'' (1922), Stoddard put forward the idea that civilization places a growing burden on individuals, which leads to a growing underclass of individuals who cannot keep up and a "ground-swell of revolt". Stoddard advocated immigration restriction and

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...

legislation to reduce the numbers of the underclass and promoted the reproduction of members of the middle and upper classes. Stoddard was one of several eugenicists who sat on the board of the American Birth Control League. The Nazi Party's chief racial theorist Alfred Rosenberg appropriated the racial term '' Untermensch'' from the German version of Stoddard's 1922 book ''The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under-man''. The German title was ''Der Kulturumsturz: Die Drohung des Untermenschen'' (1925).

Debate with W.E.B. Du Bois

In 1929, Stoddard debated

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

historian W.E.B. Du Bois on white supremacy and its assertion of the natural inferiority of colored races. The debate, organized by the Chicago Forum Council, was billed as "One of the greatest debates ever held". Du Bois argued in the affirmative to the question "Shall the Negro be encouraged to seek cultural equality? Has the Negro the same intellectual possibilities as other races?" Du Bois knew the racism would be unintentionally funny onstage; as he wrote to Fred Atkins Moore, the event's organizer, Senator J. Thomas Heflin "would be a scream" in a debate. The transcript records Stoddard saying: "'The more enlightened men of southern white America ... are doing their best to see that separation shall not mean discrimination; that if the Negroes have separate schools, they shall be good schools; that if they have separate train accommodations, they shall have good accommodations.' aughter" Du Bois, in responding to Stoddard, said the reason for the audience laughter was that he had never journeyed under

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

restrictions. "We have," Du Bois told him and the mixed audience. This moment was reported in '' The Chicago Defender''s headline: "DuBois Shatters Stoddard’s Cultural Theories in Debate; Thousands Jam Hall ... Cheered As He Proves Race Equality." '' The Afro-American'' reported: "5,000 Cheer W.E.B. DuBois, Laugh at Lothrop Stoddard."

Reports from Nazi Germany

Between 1939 and 1940, Stoddard spent four months as a journalist for the North American Newspaper Alliance in Nazi Germany. He received preferential treatment from Nazi officials compared to other journalists. An example was the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda's insisting that NBC's Max Jordan and CBS's William Shirer use Stoddard to interview the captain of the ''Bremen''. Stoddard wrote a memoir, ''Into the Darkness: Nazi Germany Today'' (1940), about his experiences in Germany. Among other events, the book describes interviews with such figures as

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

, Robert Ley and Fritz Sauckel, as well as a brief meeting with

. Stoddard visited the Hereditary Health Court in

Charlottenburg Charlottenburg () is a Boroughs and localities of Berlin, locality of Berlin within the borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. Established as a German town law, town in 1705 and named after Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, Queen consort of Kingdom ...

, an appeals court that decided whether Germans would be sterilized. After observing several dysgenics trials at the court, Stoddard asserted that the eugenics legislation was "being administered with strict regard for its provisions and that, if anything, judgments were almost too conservative" and that the law was "weeding out the worst strains in the Germanic stock in a scientific and truly humanitarian way."

Postwar

After World War II, Stoddard's theories were deemed too closely aligned with those of the Nazis and therefore he suffered a large drop in popularity. His death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1950 went almost entirely unreported despite his previously broad readership and influence.

Bibliography

Books

''The French Revolution in San Domingo,''
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1914.
''Present-day Europe, its National States of Mind,''
The Century Co., 1917.
''Stakes of the War,''
with Glenn Frank, The Century Co., 1918. * '' The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy'' Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921 st Pub. 1920
''The New World of Islam,''
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922 st Pub. 1921br>
* '' iarchive:cu31924016895975/page/n7/mode/2up, The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under Man,'' Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922.
''Racial Realities in Europe,''
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1924.
''Social Classes in Post-War Europe.''
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.
''Scientific Humanism.''
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926. *
Re-forging America: The Story of Our Nationhood.
' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1927. *
The Story of Youth.
' New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, 1928. * ''Luck, Your Silent Partner.'' New York: H. Liveright, 1929. * ''Master of Manhattan, the life of Richard Croker.'' Londton: Longmans, Green and Co., 1931.
''Europe and Our Money,''
The Macmillan Co., 1932 * ''Lonely America.'' Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran, and Co., 1932. *
Clashing Tides of Color.
' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935. * ''A Caravan Tour to Ireland and Canada,'' World Caravan Guild, 1938.
''Into the Darkness: Nazi Germany Today,''
Duell, Sloan & Pearce, Inc., 1940.

Selected articles

“Turkey and the Great War,”
''The North American Review'', October 1914.
“How Europe’s Armies Take the Field,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. L, September 1914.
“Italy and the War,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. L, September 1914.
“Bulgaria’s Dream of Empire,”
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XL, May/October, 1915.
“Imperiled Holland,”
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XL, May/October, 1915.
“Rome Rampant,”
''The Century Magazine'', Vol. XL, May/October, 1915.
“Italian Imperialism,”
''The Forum'', September 1915.
“Italy and her Rivals,”
''Review of Reviews'', Vol. LII, July/December 1915.
“Venizelos: Pilot of Greater Greece,”
''Review of Reviews'', Vol. LII, July/December 1915.
“The Simmering Balkans,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. LIV, July/December 1916.
“The Danish West Indies: Keys to the Caribbean,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. LIV, July/December 1916.
"Russia's State of Mind,"
''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. CXVIII, 1916.
"The Blundering of Greece,”
''The Century Magazine'', XCIII, November 1916/April 1917.
“The Economic Heresy of the Allies,”
''The Century Magazine'', XCIII, November 1916/April 1917.
"Pan-Turanism,"
''The American Political Science Review'', Vol. 11, No. 1, Feb., 1917.
“The Real Menace of Pacifism,”
''The Forum'', March 1917.
“New China Menaced,”
''The Forum'', March 1917.
“The Right-Line of American Policy,”
''The Forum'', March 1917.
“Exit Constantine,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. LVI, July/December 1917.
“Russia: A Bird’s-Eye View,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. LVI, July/December 1917.
“Some Reflections on Revolution,”
''The Unpopular Review'', Vol. IX, January/June, 1918.
“Russia and German Policy,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. LVIII, July/December, 1918.
“What Remains of Germanism in Central Europe,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXVII, November 1918/April 1919.
“Peace Conferences that Have Failed in the Past,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXVII, November 1918/April 1919.
“The World as It Is,”Part IIPart IIIPart IVPart V
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXVIII, May 1919.
“The Economic Foundations of Peace,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXVIII, May 1919.
"Adria: The Troubled Sea,"
''The Century Magazine,'' Vol. XCVIII, 1919.
"Bolshevism: The Heresy of the Underman,"
''The Century Magazine,'' Vol. XCVIII, 1919.
“As Others See Us,"
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXVIII, May 1919
Part IIPart IIIPart IVPart VPart VIPart VII
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXIX, November 1919/April 1920
Part VIIIPart IX
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XL, May 1920/October 1920.
“The Common People’s Union,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXIX, November 1919/April 1920.
“Labor in World Politics,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XXXIX, November 1919/April 1920.
“Japan Challenges Us to Control California,”
''The American Review of Reviews'', Vol. XL, May 1920/October 1920.
“Scandinavia’s Lesson to the World,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', November 1920.
“The New Ignorance,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', December 1920.
"The Japanese Question in California,"
''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 93, Jan., 1921.
“How Europe Views Our Campaign,”
''The World's Work'', Vol. XLI, November 1920/April 1921.
“Is America American?,”
''The World's Work'', Vol. XLI, November 1920/April 1921.
“Social Unrest and Bolshevism in the Islamic World,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', August 1921.
“The Unrest in the Islamic World,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', July 1921.
"Population Problems in Asia,"
''The Birth Control Review,'' Vol. V, 1921.
"The Month in World Affairs,"Part IIPart III
''The Century Magazine,'' Vol. CIII, 1921/1922
Part IVPart VPart VIPart VII
''The Century Magazine,'' Vol. CIV, 1922.
“Islam Aflame with Revolt,”
''The World's Work'', Vol. XLIV, May/October 1922.
“England: Impressions and Personalities,”
''Scribner's'', September 1923.
“Through Rhineland and Ruhr — Via Morocco,”
''Scribner's'', November 1923.
“Berlin and Vienna: Likenesses and Contrasts,”
''Scribner's'', December 1923.
“Balkan Glimpses,”
''Scribner's'', January 1924.
“Turkish Vistas by Land and Sea,”
''Scribner's'', February 1924.
“Through Arab Lands,”
''Scribner's'', March 1924.
“The Pedigree of Judah,”
''The Forum'', March 1926.
“Two Views of Fascism,”
''The Forum'', August 1927.
“The Impasse at the Color-Line,”
''The Forum'', October 1927.
“Is This the End of Civilization?,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', June 1931.
“What France Really Wants,”
''The Forum'', December 1931.
“Why Cities Go Broke,”
''The Forum'', June 1932.
“Chaos in the East,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', October 1932.
“How to Keep Out of the Next War,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', May 1934.
“Africa — The Coming Continent,”
''Scribner's Magazine'', April 1936. Additionally, Stoddard wrote several articles for ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

''.''"New-York Tribune,"''
August 22, 1915.

References

External links

Profile of Lothrop Stoddard
, a
''The Northlander'' Archives

Stoddard Family Association
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stoddard, Lothrop 1883 births 1950 deaths Writers from Brookline, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni American birth control activists American conspiracy theorists American critics of Islam American Eugenics Society members American male journalists American Ku Klux Klan members American Nazis American white nationalists 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Boston University School of Law alumni 20th-century American male writers Historians from Massachusetts 20th-century American political scientists Anti-Asian sentiment in the United States Anti-Japanese sentiment in the United States