Lothrop Stoddard

Theodore Lothrop Stoddard (June 29, 1883 – May 1, 1950) was an American historian, journalist, political scientist and white supremacist. Stoddard wrote several books which advocated eugenics, white supremacy, Nordicism, and scientific racism, including The Rising Tide of Color Against White World-Supremacy (1920). He advocated a racial hierarchy which he believed needed to be preserved through anti-miscegenation laws. Stoddard's books were once widely read both inside and outside the United States. He was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, where his books were recommended reading. He was also a member of the American Eugenics Society as well as a founding member and board member of the American Birth Control League, which would later become the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Stoddard's work influenced the Nazi government of Germany. His book The Revolt Against Civilization: The Menace of the Under-man (1922) may have introduced the term Untermensch (the German translation of "Under-man") into Nazi discussions of race. He traveled as a journalist in Germany during the first months of World War II, during which he received preferential treatment for interviews with Nazi officials and met briefly with Adolf Hitler. After the war, Stoddard's writing faded from popularity.