A Comparative Study of Syphilis in Whites and in Negroes

E, Zimmermann

doi:10.1001/archderm.1921.02350200078008

Cited by 20 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…흑인의 피가 생물학적 결함을 가진다는 믿음은 결핵이나 성병 역시 흑인에게서 더 빈번하게 발견된다는 주장으로 확산되었고, 혈액 관련 질병을 모두 흑인피의 문제로 동일시하려는 과학적 노력이 계속되었다. 1920년대 의학저널에 실린 한 논문은 “매독 감염의 경우 백인 환자와 흑인 환자 사이에 유전으로 결정되는 생물학적 차이가 존재”한다고 주장했고, 또 다른 논문은 “깜둥이에게서 매독이나 임질이 더 빈번하게 나타나는 것은 그들의 성적 문란과 개인위생에 대한 무개념 때문”이라고 주장했다( Zimmerman, 1921: 87-88 ; Woody, 1924: 787 ). 이러한 주장은 매독과 같은 성병이 흑인에게 특징적인 것일 뿐 아니라, 그들의 성적 태도나 위생 문제 역시 인종적으로 결정된 특성이라고 이중으로 매도하는 것인데, 이와 같은 주장은 매우 과학적인 것으로 제시되고 받아들여졌다.…”

Section: 우생학적 인종관과 흑인의 피unclassified

Historical Origins of the Tuskegee Experiment: The Dilemma of Public Health in the United States

Jinbin¹

2017

Korean J Med Hist

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The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male was an observational study on African-American males in Tuskegee, Alabama between 1932 and 1972. The U. S. Public Health Service ran this study on more than 300 people without notifying the participants about their disease nor treating them even after the introduction of penicillin. The study included recording the progress of disease and performing an autopsy on the deaths. This paper explores historical backgrounds enabled this infamous study, and discusses three driving forces behind the Tuskegee Study. First, it is important to understand that the Public Health Service was established in the U. S. Surgeon General's office and was operated as a military organization. Amidst the development of an imperial agenda of the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the PHS was responsible for protecting hygiene and the superiority of "the American race" against infectious foreign elements from the borders. The U.S. Army's experience of medical experiments in colonies and abroad was imported back to the country and formed a crucial part of the attitude and philosophy on public health. Secondly, the growing influence of eugenics and racial pathology at the time reinforced discriminative views on minorities. Progressivism was realized in the form of domestic reform and imperial pursuit at the same time. Major medical journals argued that blacks were inclined to have certain defects, especially sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis, because of their prodigal behavior and lack of hygiene. This kind of racial ideas were shared by the PHS officials who were in charge of the Tuskegee Study. Lastly, the PHS officials believed in continuing the experiment regardless of various social changes. They considered that black participants were not only poor but also ignorant of and even unwilling to undergo the treatment. When the exposure of the experiment led to the Senate investigation in 1973, the participating doctors of the PHS maintained that their study offered valuable contribution to the medical research. This paper argues that the combination of the efficiency of military medicine, progressive and imperial racial ideology, and discrimination on African-Americans resulted in the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment.

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Section: 우생학적 인종관과 흑인의 피unclassified