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The purpose of this timeline is to document the effects of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study on society. This project ultimately focuses on how this experiment led to changes in the legislature regarding the ethics of experiments and how this event affected the opinions of black people seeking medical care. It will also highlight the atmosphere of America from the 1930s until the mid-1970s for African Americans.
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Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection. It usually starts out as a small pimple-like bump and eventually turns into a body rash. It can cause fever, hair loss, headaches, etc. Prolonged effects include neurological and cardiovascular complications. Treatments for Syphilis include Penicillin and antibiotics.
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In 1930 there was a huge Syphilis outbreak. Approximately 1 in every 10 Americans had been diagnosed with Syphilis. This disease could be transmitted sexually, but could also be passed from a mother to her newborn child. Americans knew very little about this infection and were terrified of its long-term effects.
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In 1932 the U.S. Public Health Service partnered with Tuskegee Institute to conduct a study of untreated Syphilis. This study included 600 black males, 399 of whom had Syphilis. These men did not consent to this study, and were told they were being treated for “bad blood.” Most of these men were uneducated and poor. They were told they would be paid for this study. -
The Rosenwald Fund paid for experiments at Tuskegee Institute because of the severity of this disease in America. After the crash on Wall Street, funding was cut from this project. Doctors Clark and Vonderlehr took over this study as their own. Because of the state of the economy, these doctors offered the black sharecroppers free food, treatments, and burial. These men eagerly agreed, but were not told the whole truth about the project.
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Syphilis is believed to have been brought to America from Christopher Columbus’ voyage. Syphilis is highly contagious and can be spread sexually. The United States military suffered during World War II (1939-1945) because a large percentage of the soldiers were getting sick from this disease. Little was known about the causes of Syphilis or how to treat it.
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This artifact is an autopsy procedure on how the process of dealing with the post-mortem participants should be organized. This procedure was written so that the people performing the autopsies would know how to report their findings. This procedure is straightforward and states that the researchers know there will be deaths during this experiment. The deal the doctors made with these men was very misleading. They thought they were getting treated for “bad blood” and getting compensated. -
“Autopsies.” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed July 9, 2023. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/650718.
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They were unaware of the unethical practices included in this experiment. This report is a good example of how much information these black men failed to receive and how easily they were exploited because of the apparent prejudices of this time period. Not only were these men poked with needles and injected with Syphilis, they were refused treatment when Penicillin was approved for treatment against the disease.
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Coinciding with the Tuskegee experiment on black men, black Americans were also fighting for their equal rights. The Civil Rights movement lasted from 1942-1968. Because of the nature of the world that black Americans lived in at this time, they were susceptible to being exploited for their time and their skills. These doctors knew they could convince black men to participate in their study because of the income gap between black and white males, and their education level.
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Penicillin became the most common treatment for Syphilis in 1943. -
These experiments made people sick and often left them hospitalized for weeks, and they had no idea of the effects or the cost that Syphilis may have on their life. This picture was taken 6 years after the Civil Rights Movement, and 2 years before the Tuskegee Syphilis Study ended. This picture shows that even after 40 years of the study, and after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 granted them equal rights, black people were still being taken advantage of and exploited.
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Atlanta, National Archives at, and Education Department of Health. “Photograph of Participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” Photograph of Participants in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study | DPLA. Accessed July 9, 2023. https://dp.la/item/09bf7a4d5f589d2e918cff69ebdc0755?q=Tuskegee%2Bsyphilis%2Bstudy&type=%22image%22&page=3.
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This photo shows how innocent these participants were. They were told lies about the purpose of the injections they were receiving. These men continued to work their regular jobs while participating in this experiment. Many of these men just agreed because they thought they had “bad blood” and needed medicine. They were offered compensation for their blood. This picture shows a doctor in a field, probably at this man’s place of employment, giving him an injection. -
An Ad Hoc Advisory Panel deemed the study unethical and shut it down. -
DuVal, Merlin K. “Memorandum Terminating the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed July 9, 2023. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/650716.
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Eagle, J. “Interview Notes .” National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed July 9, 2023. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/650715.
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This artifact is notes taken during an interview with a man who was a participant in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. J. Eagle interviewed him in 1972. This source describes how little knowledge the participants had about what was going on. It also explains that these men were paid very little for the damages that the study did to their bodies. He recounts staying in the hospital for days on end and being sick after receiving the injections from the nurse. -
This document ended the unethical study of untreated Syphilis on black men in Tuskegee, Al. This study lasted for 40 years. During this time, doctors were abusing their power by doing these experiments on these men without their knowledge of what was going on, and they also withheld Penicillin from them when it came out as a treatment for Syphilis. -
This document shows that even 40 years later there still seems to be no guilt about this experiment and no repercussions for the conductors of the experiment. It seems like the deaths of these hundreds of black men were unimportant and just swept under the rug. New legislation will be put into place to stop unethical experiments like this from happening in the future. Prejudice against a group of people can be extremely dangerous, and laws and regulations are crucial to keeping people safe.
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He also states that he felt obligated to continue with the study even though he found out it would have adverse effects on him. This was a sensitive time for black Americans. The Great Depression, World War II, and then the Civil Rights Movement all happened within the span of this experiment. It is understandable how so many people would donate their time and their body for some extra money, and the doctors knew this.
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After the Tuskegee Syphilis Project was eradicated in 1972, people demanded change. Richard Nixon signed the National Research Act into law in 1974. This act created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. This commission created rules for conducting research on humans in order to ensure their safety. The Tuskegee Study was a large influence on the passing of this act, and it has saved countless lives from careless, unethical research.
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This incident was sadly only 1 of the many cruel events that happened to Black Americans in the 1900s. The unethical experiments of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study led to reformations of policies and positive changes in legislature. This was a very unfortunate occurrence, but luckily now protective laws are in place to prevent anything unethical from happening ever again in a human experiment.