- Summary
- Describes a dark moment in American history, when the Supreme Court agreed, in 1927, to support eugenic sterilization for "undesirables," including epileptics and the "feebleminded," resulting in the sterilization of seventy thousand Americans. --Publisher's description.
"One of America's great miscarriages of justice, the Supreme Court's infamous 1927 Buck v. Bell ruling made government sterilization of "undesirable" citizens the law of the land. New York Times bestselling author Adam Cohen tells the story in Imbeciles of one of the darkest moments in the American legal tradition: the Supreme Court's decision to champion eugenic sterilization for the greater good of the country. In 1927, when the nation was caught up in eugenic fervor, the justices allowed Virginia to sterilize Carrie Buck, a perfectly normal young woman, for being an "imbecile." It is a story with many villains, from the superintendent of the Dickensian Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded who chose Carrie for sterilization to the former Missouri agriculture professor and Nazi sympathizer who was the nation's leading advocate for eugenic sterilization. But the most troubling actors of all were the eight Supreme Court justices who were in the majority--including William Howard Taft, the former president; Louis Brandeis, the legendary progressive; and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., America's most esteemed justice, who wrote the decision urging the nation to embark on a program of mass eugenic sterilization"-- Provided by publisher.
- Format
- Book
- Author/Creator
- Cohen, Adam (Adam Seth), author.
- Published
- New York : Penguin Press, 2016
- Locale
- United States
Virginia
- Contents
-
Carrie Buck
Albert Priddy
Albert Priddy
Harry Laughlin
Harry Laughlin
Aubrey Strode
Aubrey Strode
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Oliver Wendell Holmes
Carrie Buck.
- Notes
-
Includes bibliographical references (pages 329-382) and index.
Carrie Buck -- Albert Priddy -- Albert Priddy -- Harry Laughlin -- Harry Laughlin -- Aubrey Strode -- Aubrey Strode -- Oliver Wendell Holmes -- Oliver Wendell Holmes -- Carrie Buck.
