The American Journal of Eugenics, previously called Lucifer the Light Bearer, was a radical anti-religious and pro-eugenics periodical published from 1907 to 1910 that advocated for the abolition of marriage, the erasure of anti-obscenity law, and the selective breeding of people. ^{1 2}

History

The American Journal of Eugenics was a three-volume periodical published from 1907 to 1910 by Moses Harman, a radical anti-Christian and Luciferian social reformer. ^{3 4}

The American Journal of Eugenics traces its roots to a publication called the Valley Falls Liberal. In 1880, Harman became the editor of the Valley Falls Liberal in Valley Falls, Kansas. The publication ridiculed Christianity and Christian clergy and advocated for the “Total Separation of the State from Supernatural Theology.” In 1883, Harman renamed the Valley Falls Liberal to Lucifer the Light Bearer. Harman claimed that Lucifer was the educator of mankind, saying “The god [sic] of the Bible doomed mankind to perpetual ignorance, and [people] would have never known Good from Evil if Lucifer had not told them how to become as wise as the gods themselves.” ⁵

Upon changing the name of his publication, Harman also changed the issue dating to avoid standard calendar dating tied to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, Harman began his calendar in the year 1601 with the execution of the astronomer Giordano Bruno in the belief that before 1601 the world was dominated by the teachings of the Bible and after 1601 science began to take root with advances in astronomy. While editor of Lucifer the Light Bearer, Harman wrote frequently on sex and sexology, and believed that the place of women in marriage was a form of sexual enslavement. ⁶

In 1886, Harman moved the offices of Lucifer the Light Bearer to Chicago, Illinois. In 1906, Harman again changed the name of his publication to the American Journal of Eugenics, focusing the periodical on the “right generation of human beings.” In 1908, Harman moved the American Journal of Eugenics to Los Angeles, California, where he claimed people would be more receptive to his theories. Harman died on January 10, 1910. A memorial issue of the journal was published after Harman’s death by Harman’s daughter, Lillian Harman. ⁷

Issues and Editorial Positions

From 1907 to 1910, the American Journal of Eugenics published 18 issues on a nearly monthly basis. ⁸ Articles within the periodicals regularly argued against obscenity laws and in favor of selective breeding and included racially derogatory stereotypes of nonwhites. ⁹

For example, the first issue of the journal argued against the Comstock Acts that limited the distribution of obscene materials. The issue also argued that “there is no such thing as ‘obscenity’ in a book or picture.” ¹⁰ Another piece argued that “How to be born well is the problem that must be solved, and solved correctly.” ¹¹ The same piece argued that “The putrid Hindu cancer is securing roots and fibers here in the United States.” ¹² Yet another pieces argued “morality only exists in the imagination.” ¹³

Other issues claimed men and women were ultimately gender-neutral, that “there is no difference between the male and female man,” and that human beings used to have hermaphroditic reproduction ¹⁴ or that children should be taught about sex before they reach puberty. ¹⁵

People

Moses Harman is the founder and publisher of the American Journal of Eugenics. Harman was a radical American social activist, anarchist, and Luciferian who rejected religion and supported the abolition of the institution of marriage. Harman was born on October 12, 1830, in West Virginia and died on January 30, 1910, in Los Angeles, California. ¹⁶

1. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.
2. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 3. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
3. “The American Journal of Eugenics.” Cornell University Library. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://ecommons.cornell.edu/collections/1d6fb1ed-ef11-4c0e-8225-8e470d54b4c0.
4. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.
5. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.
6. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.
7. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.
8. “The American Journal of Eugenics.” The International Association for the Preservation of Spiritualist and Occult Periodicals. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/.
9. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 10. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
10. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 3. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
11. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 7. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
12. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 10. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
13. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 1. July 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 23. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
14. The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 1, No. 2. August 1907. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 54-55. http://iapsop.com/archive/materials/american_journal_of_eugenics/american_journal_of_eugenics_v1_n1_jul_1907.pdf
15.  The American Journal of Eugenics. Vol. 2, No. 3. June 1908. Accessed April 24, 2023. P. 54-55. P.1156
16. West, Wiliam Lemore. “The Moses Harman Story.” Kansas Historical Society. Spring 1971. Accessed April 24, 2024. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-moses-harman-story/13209.