Richard Louis Dugdale
Encyclopedia
Richard Louis Dugdale was an American merchant and sociologist, best known for his 1877 family study, The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity
.
Dugdale was born in Paris
to English parents, and in 1851 moved with them to New York City
and began working for a sculptor at the age of 14. Dugdale suffered from a congenital heart disease and the family moved to Indiana
in 1858 in an effort to improve his health. The family returned to New York in 1860, and the following year his father died. Dugdale later worked in business as a stenographer while taking night courses at the Cooper Union
. He became interested in social science but worked as a merchant and a manufacturer, hoping in the future to be able to devote himself full-time to his interest in sociology studies and social reform. Dugdale was described as a shy and humble man, who believed that good government was dependent on an educated, informed electorate. He was involved with several societies including The Society for Political Education, the New York Social Science Society, the New York Association for the Advancement of Science and the Arts, the New York Sociology Club, and the Civil Service Reform Association.
Dugdale became a member of the executive committee of the Prison Association of New York in 1868 and in 1874 was delegated to inspect thirteen county jails in upstate New York
. Noticing that many of the inmates were related by blood or marriage, he self-funded a study of a family living in and around Ulster County, New York
, whom he named "Jukes". Using local records and interviews he created detailed family trees and described the lives and histories of individual offenders, and then developed conclusions about what he believed were the causes of crime and dissipation. He reported his findings to the Prison Association in 1875 and published the widely-read The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity
in 1877. Dugdale pioneered the use of science and scientific methods for the improvement of society, believing that studies that used objective methods would lead to the betterment of public policy and laws. His work marked a move away from religious-based explanations of social problems, and was lauded due to its use of fieldwork to answer questions of nature versus nurture
in issues of crime, poverty and other social ills.
Dugdale's book has been interpreted as a eugenic tract by some readers and leaders of the eugenics
movement. Others note that Dugdale was not a eugenicist and never suggested forced sterilization or other controls on reproduction. Instead, he believed that human behavior was influenced by both heredity and environment. He claimed that physiological disorders were the main cause of social problems, and that "training" could modify disposition and behavior. The conclusions he drew from his study were the need for penal reform, improved public health and early childhood education and care, all indications that he supported an environmentalist position. Dugdale also noted that the Jukes were a composite of 42 families and not a single group: only 540 of his 709 subjects appeared to be related by blood, and that his conclusions were tentative and inconclusive.
Arthur H. Estabrook of the Eugenics Record Office
published The Jukes in 1915, a follow-up study in 1916. Estabrook's eugenic reanalyzes strongly emphasized heredity, and he reversed Dugdale's arguments about the environment, proposing controls on reproduction and other eugenics solutions, since he claimed no amount of environmental changes could alter their genetic inheritance towards criminality. Scholars have noted that Estabrook's analysis of the family "won the day".
Dugdale never married and his health was fragile throughout his life. He suffered a breakdown in his late thirties and died of congenital heart disease in New York City on 23 July 1883 in his early forties.
The Jukes family
The Jukes family was a New York hill family studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The studies are part of a series of other family studies, including the Kallikaks, the Zeros and the Nams, that were often quoted as arguments in support of eugenics, though the original Jukes study, by...
.
Dugdale was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to English parents, and in 1851 moved with them to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began working for a sculptor at the age of 14. Dugdale suffered from a congenital heart disease and the family moved to Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1858 in an effort to improve his health. The family returned to New York in 1860, and the following year his father died. Dugdale later worked in business as a stenographer while taking night courses at the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
. He became interested in social science but worked as a merchant and a manufacturer, hoping in the future to be able to devote himself full-time to his interest in sociology studies and social reform. Dugdale was described as a shy and humble man, who believed that good government was dependent on an educated, informed electorate. He was involved with several societies including The Society for Political Education, the New York Social Science Society, the New York Association for the Advancement of Science and the Arts, the New York Sociology Club, and the Civil Service Reform Association.
Dugdale became a member of the executive committee of the Prison Association of New York in 1868 and in 1874 was delegated to inspect thirteen county jails in upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
. Noticing that many of the inmates were related by blood or marriage, he self-funded a study of a family living in and around Ulster County, New York
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
, whom he named "Jukes". Using local records and interviews he created detailed family trees and described the lives and histories of individual offenders, and then developed conclusions about what he believed were the causes of crime and dissipation. He reported his findings to the Prison Association in 1875 and published the widely-read The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease and Heredity
The Jukes family
The Jukes family was a New York hill family studied in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The studies are part of a series of other family studies, including the Kallikaks, the Zeros and the Nams, that were often quoted as arguments in support of eugenics, though the original Jukes study, by...
in 1877. Dugdale pioneered the use of science and scientific methods for the improvement of society, believing that studies that used objective methods would lead to the betterment of public policy and laws. His work marked a move away from religious-based explanations of social problems, and was lauded due to its use of fieldwork to answer questions of nature versus nurture
Nature versus nurture
The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences The nature versus nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities ("nature," i.e. nativism, or innatism) versus personal experiences...
in issues of crime, poverty and other social ills.
Dugdale's book has been interpreted as a eugenic tract by some readers and leaders of the eugenics
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
movement. Others note that Dugdale was not a eugenicist and never suggested forced sterilization or other controls on reproduction. Instead, he believed that human behavior was influenced by both heredity and environment. He claimed that physiological disorders were the main cause of social problems, and that "training" could modify disposition and behavior. The conclusions he drew from his study were the need for penal reform, improved public health and early childhood education and care, all indications that he supported an environmentalist position. Dugdale also noted that the Jukes were a composite of 42 families and not a single group: only 540 of his 709 subjects appeared to be related by blood, and that his conclusions were tentative and inconclusive.
Arthur H. Estabrook of the Eugenics Record Office
Eugenics Record Office
The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States was a center for eugenics and human heredity research in the first half of the twentieth century. Both its founder, Charles Benedict Davenport, and its director, Harry H...
published The Jukes in 1915, a follow-up study in 1916. Estabrook's eugenic reanalyzes strongly emphasized heredity, and he reversed Dugdale's arguments about the environment, proposing controls on reproduction and other eugenics solutions, since he claimed no amount of environmental changes could alter their genetic inheritance towards criminality. Scholars have noted that Estabrook's analysis of the family "won the day".
Dugdale never married and his health was fragile throughout his life. He suffered a breakdown in his late thirties and died of congenital heart disease in New York City on 23 July 1883 in his early forties.