The Racist Origins of Silicon Valley

A century ago, America loved eugenics and was obsessed with protecting its "superior" Anglo-American stock from the threat of immigration. Out of this nativist vortex, the first computer was born.

About a year ago, OneZero published my dive into a corner of America’s long-forgotten history — a history of the US census and the racist origins of modern computer technology. Given the times, I figure it’s worth a repost. Because I still think this side of computer history is not known nearly well enough.

The story starts in the 1880s, when the first …