Final answer:
Eugenics policies and practices in the United States involved state participation, primarily through the implementation of forced sterilization laws. These programs were based on the pseudoscientific concept of selective breeding, which aimed to improve society by discouraging reproduction among certain groups believed to have negative genetic traits.
Step-by-step explanation:
Eugenics policies and practices in the United States involved state participation, primarily through the implementation of forced sterilization laws. In the early 20th century, 32 states funded programs that forcibly sterilized tens of thousands of women, predominantly people of color. These programs were based on the pseudoscientific concept of selective breeding, which aimed to improve society by discouraging reproduction among certain groups believed to have negative genetic traits.
This state participation in eugenics policies and practices was supported by leading organizations such as the Carnegie and Rockefeller foundations, as well as scientists from top universities. The government's involvement in these programs reflected racial and xenophobic ideologies, and the policies themselves were often cloaked as progressive reforms.
These eugenics programs in the United States influenced the policies and practices of the Nazis in Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. The Nazis partially modeled their sterilization and eugenicide programs on American practices, further illustrating the extent of state participation in eugenics policies and practices.