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In the early 20th century a psychologist named Henry Herbert Goddard aimed to prove that “feeblemindedness” was a hereditary trait. His work, fueled by the frenzy of eugenics research at the time, focused on the family line of an institutionalized girl named Emma Wolverton, but which he named “Deborah Kallikak” in his publications. Goddard’s 1912 study on the supposedly degenerate Kallikak family won him fame and acclaim. It was printed in textbooks and cited in a Supreme Court case that permitted the involuntary sterilization of people in institutions. But decades later the truth was eventually acknowledged by every honest academic: Goddard’s research, which was validated by heights of authority and power, was completely worthless from top to bottom.

Written by Travis View. Theme by Nick Sena (https://nicksenamusic.com). Additional music by Pontus Berghe. Editing by Corey Klotz.

https://qanonanonymous.com

REFERENCES:

Carlson, Axel Elof ( 2001) The Unfit: A History of a Bad Idea

Smith, David J. and Wehmeyer, Michael L. (2012) Good Blood, Bad Blood. Science, Nature, and the Myth of the Kallikaks.

Smith, David J. and Wehmeyer, Michael L. (2012) Who Was Deborah Kallikak?

https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article/50/2/169/14846/Who-Was-Deborah-Kallikak

Smith, David J. (1985) Minds Made Feeble: The Myth and the Legacy of the Kallikaks

Zenderland, L. (1998). Measuring minds: Henry Herbert Goddard and the origins of American intelligence testing.