Nineteenth-century science claimed polygamy produced a physically degenerate Mormon race

Evidence

Scientific racism further validated anti-Mormonism in the nineteenth century. Religion was instrumentalized by phrenologists and physiognomists who claimed that Mormons’ brains were small, thereby making them more susceptible to the evils of polygamy. As noted in W. Paul Reeve’s work, one army doctor wrote of Mormons in his report to the US Senate following the Utah War, “The yellow, sunken, cadaverous visage; the greenish-colored eyes; the thick, pro-tuberant lips; the low forehead; the light, yellowish hair; the lank, angular person, constitute an appearance so characteristic of the new race, the production of polygamy, as to distinguish them at a glance.” The doctor concluded that Mormons’ physical degeneracy was a result of their moral depravity. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 321 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Scientific racism framed Mormons as a biologically degenerate race — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 321; Supreme Court racialized Mormons by associating polygamy with Asian and African peoples — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 328; Shared ancestry did not protect Mormons from racialization as foreigners — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 322 (+14 more)

Broader Connections

• Scientific racism framed Mormons as a biologically degenerate race #corroborates (0.97) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 321