In Reckless Hands - Skinner v. Oklahoma and the Near-Triumph of American Eugenics

In the 1920s and 1930s, thousands of men and women were sterilized at asylums and prisons across America. Believing that criminality and mental illness were inherited, state legislatures passed laws calling for the sterilization of "habitual criminals" and the "feebleminded." But in 1936, inmates at Oklahoma's McAlester prison refused to cooperate; a man named Jack Skinner was the first to come to trial. A colorful and heroic cast of characters--from the inmates themselves to their devoted, self-taught lawyer--would fight the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Only after Americans learned the extent of another large-scale eugenics project--in Nazi Germany--would the inmates triumph. Combining engrossing narrative with sharp legal analysis, Victoria F. Nourse explains the consequences of this landmark decision, still vital today--and reveals the stories of these forgotten men and women who fought for human dignity and the basic right to have a family.

Info autore

Victoria F. Nourse received her JD degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Currently the Burrus-Bascom Professor of Criminal and Constitutional Law at the University of Wisconsin, she lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin.

Riassunto

The disturbing, forgotten history of America's experiment with eugenics.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Victoria F Nourse, Victoria F. Nourse, Nourse Victoria F.
• Editore: W. W. Norton & Company
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 08.01.2010
• EAN: 9780393065299
• ISBN: 978-0-393-06529-9
• Pagine: 250
• Dimensioni: 165 mm x 244 mm x 25 mm
• Peso: 550 g
• Categorie: Saggistica > Storia > Altro; Scienze sociali, diritto, economia > Diritto > Tematiche generali, enciclopedie; Scienze umane, arte, musica > Storia > Storia dei paesi e delle regioni; Oklahoma, LAW / Legal History, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Abortion & Birth Control, Legal History, Social and cultural history, Ethical issues: abortion & birth control, c 1919 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), c 1918 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), Ethical issues: abortion and birth control