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One of the deep, dark secrets of America's past has finally come to light. Starting in the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of American children were warehoused in institutions by state governments. And the federal government did nothing to stop it.

The justification? The kids had been labeled feeble-minded, and were put away in conditions that can only be described as unspeakable.

Now, a new book, “The State Boys Rebellion,” by Michael D'Antonio, reveals even more: A large proportion of the kids who were locked up were not retarded at all. They were simply poor, uneducated kids with no place to go, who ended up in institutions like the Fernald School in Waltham, Mass.

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The Fernald School, and others like it, was part of a popular American movement in the early 20th century called the Eugenics movement. The idea was to separate people considered to be genetically inferior from the rest of society, to prevent them from reproducing.

Eugenics is usually associated with Nazi Germany, but in fact, it started in America. Not only that, it continued here long after Hitler's Germany was in ruins.

At the height of the movement - in the ‘20s and ‘30s - exhibits were set up at fairs to teach people about eugenics. It was good for America, and good for the human race. That was the message.

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The children did most of the manual labor at the school.

“The kids at Fernald raised the vegetables that they ate. They sewed the soles on the shoes that they wore. They manufactured the brooms that they used to sweep the floor,” says D’Antonio, who adds that the school made sure that at least 30 percent of the kids admitted had normal or near normal intelligence.

The school needed those kids to work. “You had to have somebody with a certain level of intelligence in order to run this place,” says Boyce. “And I can remember being out in the gardens from morning until night in the sun.”

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One more book on my Amazon "wish list."

[ May 03, 2004, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: sndrake ]
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Hmm...the link is going to a United States of Leland page. I think you're getting your outrages crossed.

Dagonee
 

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Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
 




You are quick! I had that link fixed within two minutes after I posted it.

It's what happens when you email a link to someone then go to Hatrack and start something else, forgetting to copy the new URL.

The "Leland" link was my way of explaining my prediction that it will vanish entirely from the theatres within a few weeks. The box office stats can be easily interpreted even by someone like me.



[ May 03, 2004, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: sndrake ]
 

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Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
 
And now we have prisons for the nation's 'trash'. Hooray for progress.
 

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Posted by UofUlawguy (Member # 5492) on :
 
I didn't realize the U.S. eugenics movement was supposed to be some kind of big secret. I certainly learned about it, even though I never went out of my way to study it. The information was just out there.
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
That was my comment the last time it came up, but enough people hadn't heard of it that I think these reminders are good.

Of course, I came from Virginia, with one of the most "progressive" (*shudder*) sterilization programs in the country, so we had more reason to learn about it than most.

Dagonee
 

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Posted by sndrake (Member # 4941) on :
 

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Of course, I came from Virginia, with one of the most "progressive" (*shudder*) sterilization programs in the country, so we had more reason to learn about it than most.

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California was more "progressive" than Virginia, and they only just "discovered" their eugenics and sterilization history last year.

One reason Virginia deserves such attention, though, is the role that it played in getting the Supreme Court to sanction mandatory sterilization. According to eugenics scholars, Carrie Buck didn't choose to fight her sterilization. Rather, it was the institution itself who handpicked hers as a case that could be fought on her behalf (her attorney sat on sterilization boards) and LOST.

Prior to the Supreme Court decision in Buck v. Bell, many states were reluctant to implement their sterilization laws, out of constitutional concerns. Justice Holmes' decision opened the floodgates.
 

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Posted by skillery (Member # 6209) on :
 
If China and India ever stop practicing eugenics will they beat themselves up about their "deep, dark secret"?

Scoll down to: "Current Programs that May Restrict Reproductive Freedom"
 

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Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
 
I didn't see it on 60 min, but I had heard of the sterilization plans last year and was horrified.

It's good that the laws changed, but I have a hard time imagining such a thing happening in the first place.

There was a movie that came out last year (or so) that was about the same type of place run for young unwed mothers and "problem girls". It looked too dark to watch for intertainment, but I would like to see it for educational purposes.
Thse who don't know thier history are doomed to repeat it, and all....

I might check out that book, if our library can get it.

Kwea
 

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Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
 
"Eugenics is usually associated with Nazi Germany, but in fact, it started in America."

Man, it doesn't help teh story when you get basic facts wrong. The Eugenics movement started in the 1850's in Britain, and I'm sure there are earlier sources too.
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Well, Virginia was one of the defendants in the consolidated Brown case, the defendant in Loving (the court decision that struck down anti-interracial marriage laws), and Buck. Not exactly a great honorable tradition of upholding personal liberty...
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Paul, the term was coined in 1883 by Francis Galton. Definitely got it's start in England, but was taken to a new scientific heights in America. Hitler specifically admired the way Americans had overcome the "sentiment" problem.

Dagonee
 

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Posted by Paul Goldner (Member # 1910) on :
 
Oops. Thanks for the date corrrection.
 

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Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
 
Ideas from a scientific perspective predating the actual term can be traced back into the 1700s - but I'm going from memory on this. Of course, examples of the principles probably can be found in any culture in any period.

Dagonee
 

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