--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish very much that the wrong people…" description: "\"I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding\" — Theodore Roosevelt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg" --- # I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented… ![“I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding” quote by Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg) > “I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding” [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Preventing harmful individuals from reproducing is suggested as a way to protect society, reflecting eugenic ideas of improving population quality. **In simple terms:** Stopping undesirable people from having children could protect society. Key Takeaway Consider ethical implications of population control. Themes eugenics ethics societal protection population Mood controversial critical Type political historical When to use this quote - public health policy - genetic counseling - social reform Key Concepts Social policy bioethics history Questions to Reflect On - Is it ethical to limit reproduction? - What criteria define “wrong people”? A Different Perspective Raises moral concerns about rights, discrimination, and scientific validity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eugenics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eugenics/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sterilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sterilization/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Wrong people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-people/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that now and always the conscious selection of the best for reproduction will be impossible; that to propose it is to display…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-g-wells/i-believe-that-now-and-always-the-conscious-selection-of-the-best-for/) [H. G. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-g-wells/) > [ Give dysgenic groups \[people with 'bad genes'\] in our population their choice of segregation or \[compulsory\] sterilization. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/give-dysgenic-groups-people-with-bad-genes-in-our-population-their/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [“I suppose there's no good answer to that, Danny. I wish there was. But if you take the wrong, path, something deep inside you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inara-scott/i-suppose-there-s-no-good-answer-to-that-danny-i-wish-there-was-but/) [Inara Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inara-scott/) > [“My firm conviction is that if wide-spread Eugenic reforms are not adopted during the next hundred years or so, our Western Civilization is inevitably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-darwin/my-firm-conviction-is-that-if-wide-spread-eugenic-reforms-are-not/) Leonard Darwin > [Although it has been a carefully guarded secret by the watchdogs of the mainstream media, eugenics programs were never discontinued worldwide, with involuntary sterilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-keith/although-it-has-been-a-carefully-guarded-secret-by-the-watchdogs-of/) Jim Keith > [“With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/with-savages-the-weak-in-body-or-mind-are-soon-eliminated-and-those/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“Dedicated to the memory of MY FATHER. For if I had not believed that he would have wished me to give such help as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-darwin/dedicated-to-the-memory-of-my-father-for-if-i-had-not-believed-that/) Leonard Darwin > [Englishmen Francis Galton to describe the "science" of bettering human stock and the elimination of unwanted characteristics... and individuals. Galton proposed societal intervention for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-galton/englishmen-francis-galton-to-describe-the-science-of-bettering-human/) [Francis Galton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-galton/) > [The only method compatible with our notions of civilization and the race is to prevent the breeding of the unfit by sterilization and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikola-tesla/the-only-method-compatible-with-our-notions-of-civilization-and-the/) [Nikola Tesla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikola-tesla/) > [Measures of sterilization should, in my opinion, be very definitely confined to persons who are mentally defective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/measures-of-sterilization-should-in-my-opinion-be-very-definitely/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“Altogether at least sixty thousand people were sterilized because of Laughlin’s efforts. At the peak of the movement in the 1930s, some thirty states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/altogether-at-least-sixty-thousand-people-were-sterilized-because-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [The majority of American states had laws by the 1930s that allowed for forced sterilization of socially undesirable categories of people, so-called feeble-minded, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/the-majority-of-american-states-had-laws-by-the-1930s-that-allowed/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [To give certain dysgenic groups in our population their choice of segregation or sterilization. g. to apportion farm lands and homesteads for these segregated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/to-give-certain-dysgenic-groups-in-our-population-their-choice-of/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [I cannot favour laws such as that of Idaho, which allows sterilization of 'mental defectives, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates, and sex perverts.' The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/i-cannot-favour-laws-such-as-that-of-idaho-which-allows-sterilization/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Eugenic sterilization is an urgent need ... We must prevent multiplication of this bad stock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/eugenic-sterilization-is-an-urgent-need-we-must-prevent/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) ## More by Theodore Roosevelt > [No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/no-people-is-wholly-civilized-where-a-distinction-is-drawn-between/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/get-action-seize-the-moment-man-was-never-intended-to-become-an-oyster/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Argument weak; speak loudly!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/argument-weak-speak-loudly/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Let the watchwords of all our people be the old familiar watchwords of honesty, decency, fair-dealing, and commonsense."... "We must treat each man on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/let-the-watchwords-of-all-our-people-be-the-old-familiar-watchwords/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The forces that tend for evil are great and terrible, but the forces of truth and love and courage and honesty and generosity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-forces-that-tend-for-evil-are-great-and-terrible-but-the-forces/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Every reform movement has a lunatic fringe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/every-reform-movement-has-a-lunatic-fringe/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Conservation and rural-life policies are really two sides of the same policy; and down at the bottom this policy rests upon the fundamental law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/conservation-and-rural-life-policies-are-really-two-sides-of-the-same/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [It is a great mistake to think that the extremist is a better man than the moderate. Usually the difference is not that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-a-great-mistake-to-think-that-the-extremist-is-a-better-man/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-am-a-strong-individualist-by-personal-habit-inheritance-and/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Alone of human beings the good and wise mother stands on a plane of equal honor with the bravest soldier; for she has gladly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/alone-of-human-beings-the-good-and-wise-mother-stands-on-a-plane-of/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The greatest privilege and greatest duty for any man is to be happily married, and no other form of success or service, for either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-greatest-privilege-and-greatest-duty-for-any-man-is-to-be-happily/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [For unflagging interest and enjoyment, a household of children, if things go reasonably well, certainly all other forms of success and achievement lose their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/for-unflagging-interest-and-enjoyment-a-household-of-children-if/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains. To put an end to it will be neither a short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their-2/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [If elected, I shall see to it that every man has a square deal, no less and no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-elected-i-shall-see-to-it-that-every-man-has-a-square-deal-no-less/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) [Explore all 876 Theodore Roosevelt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More Breeding quotes > [“Galton’s gospel of eugenics found fertile soil in Britain, in the intellectual salons of Europe, and in the United States. Beginning in the early…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-loconte/galton-s-gospel-of-eugenics-found-fertile-soil-in-britain-in-the/) Joseph Loconte > [Eugenic goals are most likely to be attained under another name than eugenics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-osborn/eugenic-goals-are-most-likely-to-be-attained-under-another-name-than/) [Frederick Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-osborn/) > [There are few defects in our nature so glaring as not to be veiled from observation by politeness and good-breeding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/there-are-few-defects-in-our-nature-so-glaring-as-not-to-be-veiled/) [Stanisław I Leszczyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-i-leszczy-ski/) > [There is no society or conversation to be kept up in the world without good-nature, or something which must bear its appearance and supply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/there-is-no-society-or-conversation-to-be-kept-up-in-the-world/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Exchange of breeding individuals between two populations tends to homogenize their gene pools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-r-grant/exchange-of-breeding-individuals-between-two-populations-tends-to/) [Peter R. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-r-grant/) > [Good-breeding is not confined to externals, much less to any particular dress or attitude of the body; it is the art of pleasing, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/good-breeding-is-not-confined-to-externals-much-less-to-any/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [The right to live does not connote the right of each man to reproduce his kind ... As we lessen the stringency of natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-pearson/the-right-to-live-does-not-connote-the-right-of-each-man-to-reproduce/) [Karl Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-pearson/) > [Growing up in that fashion is a breeding ground for insecurity and doubt; it also leaves you questioning motives. It took me a long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-runyon/growing-up-in-that-fashion-is-a-breeding-ground-for-insecurity-and/) [Damon Runyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-runyon/) > [Easy writing's curst hard reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/easy-writing-s-curst-hard-reading/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [No parent can consistently teach faith in Christ who profanes the name of Deity. Profanity is never heard in the well-ordered home. Swearing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-o-mckay/no-parent-can-consistently-teach-faith-in-christ-who-profanes-the/) [David O. McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-o-mckay/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. Normal biological animals stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/in-a-way-human-beings-have-never-been-part-of-the-natural-order-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [Compliments of congratulation are always kindly taken, and cost nothing but pen, ink and paper. I consider them as draughts upon good breeding, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/compliments-of-congratulation-are-always-kindly-taken-and-cost/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Organized charity itself is. . . the surest sign that our civilization has bred, is breeding and is perpetuating constantly increasing numbers of defectives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-sanger/organized-charity-itself-is-the-surest-sign-that-our-civilization-has/) [Margaret Sanger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-sanger/) > [I think it is more of an intuitive, circular kind of personality, for starters. And, as I say of horses, the secret to breeding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walton/i-think-it-is-more-of-an-intuitive-circular-kind-of-personality-for/) Alice Walton > [Well, puppy mills are - it's just a name given to really, really bad dog breeding facilities and sadly, we have a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-trump/well-puppy-mills-are-it-s-just-a-name-given-to-really-really-bad-dog/) [Lara Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-trump/) Browse all 411 Breeding quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Roosevelt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-could-be-prevented-entirely/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Breeding" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-could-be-prevented-entirely/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/715/theodore-roosevelt-218_breeding_i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-c_1686759.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wish very much that the wrong people could be prevented entirely from breeding” — Theodore Roosevelt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Theodore Roosevelt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wish very much that the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-could-be-prevented-entirely/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-wish-very-much-that-the-wrong-people-could-be-prevented-entirely/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```