Charles Goethe

Charles Goethe
Born	(1875-03-28)March 28, 1875 Sacramento, California,U.S.
Died	July 10, 1966(1966-07-10)(aged 91) Sacramento, California,U.S.
Occupation	Eugenicist
Known for	founder ofEugenics Society of Northern Californiaand theCalifornia State University, Sacramento
Spouse	Mary Glide

Charles Matthias Goethe(March 28, 1875 – July 10, 1966)was an Americaneugenicist,entrepreneur,land developer,philanthropist,conservationist,founder of theEugenics Society of Northern California,and anativeand lifelong resident ofSacramento, California.

Early life

Charles M. Goethe was born on March 28, 1875, in Sacramento, California.He pronounced his last name as GAY-tee.Goethe's grandparents had immigrated to California from Germany in the 1870s.Charles’ father was interested in agriculture and wild life. Both men also pursued careers in real estate as Charles made most of his money as a real estate broker.Charles had passed the bar exam but did not pursue a career in law.

As a child, Charles was interested in agriculture, biology, and the human body. In his diary, he kept a record of his diet and exercise, specifically noting days in which his regimen was not sufficient.Goethe's additional childhood interest in various plants and animals evolved as he pressed and catalogued his findings.His ideas concerning nature tied into his later views on eugenics, as he connected the evolution of nature to heredity.Goethe explained in his memoirSeeking to Servethat his original interest in eugenics began as a child.

Nature guide movement

Goethe (German pronunciation:[ˈɡøːtə]and occasionally incorrectly as "Gaytee") wrote admiringly ofCalifornia’sForty-Niners,the State’sgiant redwood trees,and loved the outdoors. Goethe worked with organizations including the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society.He and his wife have been called "The father and mother of the Nature Guide Movement,' initiating interpretive programs with the U.S.National Park Service.The National Park Service made Goethe the “Honorary Chief Naturalist” for his work in this field.This was motivated by their experience with nature programs in Europe and desire to educate visitors in the U.S. National Parks.His motto was "Learn to Read the Trail-side as a Book." Goethe encouraged the general public to educate themselves about the evolution of nature as well, personally spending time dedicated to learning about different plants and animals.He later introduced the Boy Scouts to Sacramento, due to his interest in furthering biological education for children.As an adult, Goethe was a conservationist who worked to implement park rangers into national parks.

Founder of Sacramento State College

Goethe foundedCalifornia State University, Sacramento(Sacramento State College at the time), which in turn treated Goethe with the reverence of afounding father,appointed him chairman of the university's advisory board, dedicated theGoethe Arboretumto him in 1961, and organized an elaborate gala and 'national recognition day' to mark his 90th birthday in 1965, when he received letters of appreciation – solicited by his friends at CSUS – from the president of theNature Conservancy,then-GovernorEdmund G. Brown,and then-PresidentLyndon B. Johnson.As a result, in 1963, Goethe changed his will to make CSUS his primarybeneficiary,bequeathing his residence, eugenics library, papers, and $640,000 to the university.

When Goethe died, CSUS received the largest share of his $24 million estate.

Eugenics controversy

Charles Goethe worked near Arizona, focusing on health conditions in the 1920s.Following his work in Arizona, Goethe desired to understand “the extent of the mestizo peril to the American ‘seed stock.'"Essentially, Goethe was determined to establish the threat ofMexicansto the American population, in a eugenic sense. As a result, Goethe created the Immigration Study Commission.With the efforts of his organization, Goethe aimed to ban Mexican entry into the United States of America. In addition, Goethe portrayed Mexicans as carriers of different diseases and germs. While he believed that certain Mexicans could appear as free of disease, they could in fact be silent carriers due to their health practices.His ideas contributed to 1920s perceptions that theAmerican melting pothad begun to integrate germs from certain races, specifically the Mexican race.

Goethe was a strong proponent of positive eugenics.His mentor was eugenicistMadison Grant,with whom he shared strong anti-immigrant beliefs. Like Grant, Goethe promoted his anti-immigrant and racist ideas through pamphlets and other tracts, and he lobbied with politicians and other bureaucrats.Goethe created tiny pamphlets that he distributed to explain his beliefs concerning specific ethnic groups.In these booklets, he explained the importance of family planning and eugenic practices to ensure the superiority of certain races. He invested nearly 1 million dollars to produce and distribute these pamphlets to influence public perceptions.In addition to investing in these booklets, Goethe also invested in research for plant and biological genetics.

Goethe also recommendedcompulsory sterilizationof the 'socially unfit', opposedimmigration,and praisedGermanscientists who used a comprehensive sterilization program to 'purify' theAryan racebefore the outbreak ofWorld War II.Goethe also funded anti-Asiancampaigns, praised theNazisbefore and after World War II, and practiceddiscriminationin his business dealings, refusing to sell real estate to Mexicans and Asians.

Goethe believed a variety of social successes (wealth,leadership,intellectual discoveries) and social problems (poverty,illegitimacy,crimeandmental illness) could be traced to inherited biological attributes associated with 'racialtemperament'.

Working with theHuman Betterment FoundationinPasadena, California,Goethe lobbied the State to restrict immigration fromMexicoand carry outinvoluntary sterilizationsof mostly poor women, defined as 'feeble-minded' or 'socially inadequate' by medical authorities between 1909 and the 1960s.

Goethe was also involved in the publication of multiple journals in which he expressed his views on eugenics. Goethe was involved with the journalSurvey Graphic,serving as a member of the council. The journal had published information about typhus quarantines in Mexico in both 1916 and 1917.In addition toSurvey Graphic,Goethe was also featured in the journalEugenicsand explained his beliefs that Mexicans were the 'dirt of society'.In the journal from the American Eugenics Society, he explained that Mexicans were as low as Negros, and did not understand basic health rules, but also resisted healthy practices.In his articles, Goethe also explained that Mexicans andSouth Europeanswere responsible for stealing jobs from Americans and introducing germs to the people.

Upon return from a trip to Germany 1934, which at the time was sterilizing over 5,000 citizens per month, Goethe reportedly told a fellow eugenicist, "You will be interested to know that your work has played a powerful part in shaping the opinions of the group of intellectuals who are behindHitlerin this epoch-making program. Everywhere I sensed that their opinions have been tremendously stimulated by American thought...I want you, my dear friend, to carry this thought with you for the rest of your life, that you have really jolted into action a great government of 60 million people. "TheNazi eugenicsmovement eventually escalated to becomeThe Holocaust,which claimed the lives of well over 10 million 'undesirables', including 6 million Jews.

In Sacramento, during Goethe's life, the advocacy ofeugenics,the socialphilosophyof attempting to 'improve' the human population byartificial selection,was considered aprogressiveissue. Though it was opposed by many scientists who thought the understanding of human heredity was too shallow to create solid policy, and by religious leaders who opposed birth control of any form, in the years after the Holocaust it was not considered to be as radical as it is today.Around 20,000 patients in California Statepsychiatric hospitalsystem were sterilized with minimal or non-existentconsentgiven between 1909 and 1950, when the law went into general disuse before its repeal in the 1960s. A favorable report byHuman Betterment FoundationworkersE.S. GosneyandPaul B. Popenoe,touting the results of the sterilizations in California, was published in the late 1920s, which in turn was often cited by the Nazi government as evidence wide-reaching sterilization programs were feasible and humane.When Nazi administrators went on trial forwar crimesinNurembergafter World War II, they justified their mass sterilizations by pointing at theUnited Statesas their inspiration.

CSUS attempted to name a newsciencebuilding after him in 1965, but that effort was rebuffed by students and teachers.In 2005, the university changed the name of its arboretum and botanic garden from the Charles M. Goethe Arboretum to the University Arboretum without fanfare because of renewed attention to Goethe's virulently racist views, praise of Nazi Germany, and advocacy for eugenics.

On June 21, 2007, the school board of theSacramento City Unified School Districtvoted to rename the "Charles M. Goethe Middle School" to the "Rosa Parks Middle School".

On January 29, 2008, theSacramento County Board of Supervisorsstripped his name from one of Sacramento County's busiest parks.On April 25, 2008, the Sacramento Bee reported that, with a nod from Internet voters and the county parks commission, the park will be renamed River Bend Park.

Personal life

Charles Goethe married Mary Glide in 1903.Glide came from a wealthy family and Goethe attempted to court Mary nine times before she accepted his offer.According to Goethe, his wife Mary had refused his proposals since she feared that he was solely interested in her wealth. In addition, she rejected his attempts due to the fact that she was struggling with infertility.The Goethes owned multiple ranches and invested money in the stock market, becoming a wealthy and lucrative family.At the time of her death in 1946, Mary's estate was worth $1.5 million.Her husband, Charles Goethe, had an estate worth $24 million when he died on July 10, 1966.Charles Goethe did not have any children, presumably due to Mary's infertility.

Books

• Manuelito of the Red Zerapeby C. M. Goethe

See also

• Eugenics in the United States

External links

• StateHornet.com- 'Online petition seeks to change name of arboretum', David Martin Olson,State Hornet(February 4, 2005)
• TimesOnline.co.uk- 'Liberal California confronts years of forced sterilisation', Chris Ayres,Sunday Times(July 11, 2003)
• 'School to erase Goethe name? Staffers say honoring man with racist views insults the students.', Dorothy Korber, "The Sacramento Bee"(February 15, 2007)
• 'Ugly side of philanthropist divides (California State University, Sacramento)', Eric Stern, Bee Staff Writer, "The Sacramento Bee"(March 1, 2007)
• 'Goethe recalled fondly by some', Eric Stern, Bee Staff Writer, "The Sacramento Bee"(March 2, 2007)