Category: Historical Commentary
-
Why Halliday Sutherland Opposed Eugenics (Long Before His Conversion)
Dr Halliday Sutherland’s religious journey Dr Sutherland’s religious journey was outlined in Exterminating Poverty: Born in 1882, he had been “brought up a Scots Presbyterian” but was by 1904 “in theory an agnostic and in practice an atheist”. On the outbreak of World War I, he joined the Church of Scotland: “In August 1914 there…
-
How Tuberculosis and Eugenics Collided in Early 20th Century Britain
Introduction In early 20th-century Britain, two powerful forces shaped public health policy: the fight against tuberculosis, and the rise of the eugenics movement. These forces eventually collided—scientifically, politically, and ethically. The dispute was not merely theoretical. It defined how society understood disease, poverty, heredity, and the responsibilities of the state. This collision played a central…
-
Why the Stopes v Sutherland Trial Still Matters Today
Introduction The Stopes v Sutherland libel trial (1923–24) was one of Britain’s most significant public debates about population control and eugenics. Yet today accounts of the trial are often simplified into a “Catholics against contraceptives” schema and Stopes’ eugenic agenda is downplayed (or even omitted!). This post explains what the trial was really about and…
-
Why Halliday Sutherland Opposed Eugenics (Long Before His Conversion)
Dr Halliday Sutherland is often described in modern summaries as opposing Marie Stopes because of her advocacy for contraceptives and his Catholic beliefs. This explanation is simple, convenient and historically incorrect. The documentary record shows that Sutherland’s opposition to Stopes arose from his opposition to eugenics, that his opposition to eugenics arose directly from his…
-
What the ‘Tenets of the CBC’ actually said
The “Tenets of the C.B.C.” (or to give them their full name, the ‘Tenets of the Society for Constructive Birth Control and Racial Progress’) is one of the most important—and often overlooked—documents in the history of reproductive politics in Britain. Written by Marie Stopes in 1921, it set out the guiding principles for the Mothers’…