Key cases: eugenics laws Williams v. Smith – Indiana, 1921 (131 N.E. 2); Smith v. Wayne Probate Judge – Michigan, 1925 (204 N.W. 140)
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| Anthropometry (human measurement) exhibit at Second International Exhibition of Eugenics, 1921 (courtesy Wikimedia Commons) “That they [mentally disabled people] are a serious menace to society no one will question. … [I]t was not only [the legislature’s] undoubted right, but it was its duty to enact some legislation that would protect the people and preserve the race from the known effects of the procreation of children by the feeble-minded, the idiots and the imbeciles.” -Justice John McDonald, in Wayne Probate Judge “We … are inclined to revert to old-time cruelties because sugar-coated with a scientific name and heralded as a new thing under the sun.” -Justice Howard Wiest (dissenting), in Wayne Probate Judge |
EMPIRE OF LAWS - The Legal History of the 50 American States > 5. MIDWEST LEGAL HISTORY > 5.4. The Midwest, 1900-1925: The Progressive Era and Its Aftermath > 5.4.1. The Midwest, 1900-1925: The Struggle for Workers Rights > 5.4.2. The Midwest, 1900-1925: Conserving the Land > 5.4.3. The Midwest, 1900-1925: Changing Times, Changing Constitutions > 5.4.4. The Midwest, 1900-1925: Coming to Terms With Diversity: Anti-Sedition Laws > 5.4.5. The Midwest, 1900-1925: English-Only Laws and Flag Desecration Laws >