Wisconsin

 

Number of victims 

1823 people were sterilized (Paul, p. 546), of whom 79% were women and 99.5% were deemed mentally deficient.  Wisconsin was 11^th in the nation for the total number of sterilizations performed.

Period during which sterilizations occurred

State sanctioned sterilizations occurred between 1913 and 1963 (Paul, p. 546).

Temporal pattern of sterilizations and rate of sterilization

While a relatively small number of people were sterilized through the late 1920s, the number of sterilizations increased in the 1930s and remained high until the end of World War II.  For this period, the average number of sterilizations was about 80 per year. The rate of sterilization per 100,000 per year was about 3.

Passage of law(s)

On July 30, 1913 (Dowbiggin, p. 126), Governor Francis McGovern of Wisconsin enacted Chapter 693 (Lombardo, p. 47), a statute empowering the state to sterilize inmates of both mental and penal institutions (Painter) and to require the presentation of a medical certificate when applying for a marriage license (Laughlin, p. 345; “Health-Marriage and Sterilization Acts”).  Wisconsin was the 12^th state to pass a sterilization law in the United States.  In 1955 the legislature eliminated epileptics from the law (Paul, p. 547).

Groups identified in the law

Groups specifically identified by the 1913 sterilization law are inmates of both mental and penal institutions (Laughlin, p. 12; Painter): “criminals, insane, feeble-minded, and epileptics” (“Health-Marriage and Sterilization Acts”).  Although these were specifically enumerated, those who were most likely to be sterilized were feebleminded people (mostly women) who were deemed to be sexually promiscuous (Paul, p. 548).

Process of the Law

Although the sterilization process is not detailed explicitly in the law and it contains no “procedural safeguards” (Paul, p. 540), the examining board did have to make a unanimous decision that sterilization was in the best interest of the individual and society as a whole (Laughlin, p. 12); they also had to agree that it was the “safest and most effective” way of curtailing the patient’s ability to reproduce (Painter, 2001).  After reports suggesting certain sterilizations were filed to the institution’s superintendant, that superintendant then had to make a recommendation to the Department of Public Welfare.  Subsequent to this action, a panel of experts (a surgeon and a scientist) would review the case and then begin ascertaining the consent of the person in question.  If consent was refused, the patient would not be forcibly sterilized; they would be kept institutionalized indefinitely (Paul, p. 542).  The law also restricted the amount of money that could be spent on sterilizations to two thousand dollars per year (Laughlin, p. 12).

Precipitating factors and processes

The movement began in the 1890s, when progressive “educators, charity and correction officials” began looking for ways to solve the economic crisis they were facing (Dowbiggin, p. 125).  In response to this in 1895 the state passed legislation to build a “Home for the Feeble-Minded” at Chippewa Falls, where “idiot” children could be placed, reproduction of epileptic and feeble-minded women curtailed, and “imbeciles” educated to their highest potential (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2007).  The establishment of this center was popular with progressive state reformers because they believed that “custodialism” would help prevent “defectives” from reproducing (Dowbiggin, p. 125).  These homes were well-liked but the fact that they were overcrowded and expensive led to the increasing attractiveness of sterilization (Vecoli, p. 195).  A primary factor leading to the initial institution of the 1913 sterilization law was that Wisconsin was already famous for trusting in science, especially biology, psychology, medicine, and sociology to help form public policy, and eugenics was an accepted science (Dowbiggin, p. 126).  The academic authorities of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries viewed “degeneracy” as a “cancerous tumor” in society that could be cured by eliminating its ability to grow: “sterilization or racial disaster!” A progressive governor and legislators ultimately succeeded, after failed attempts in 1907, 1909 and 1911, in passing the bill by convincing both houses that serving the “collective” was most important (Laughlin, p. 31). 

By the time the law was passed, sterilizations did not seem nearly as radical as it had in 1907 when Indiana first instituted the program (Vecoli, p. 195).  The peak in sterilizations from 1934 to 1938 occurred because following the Great Depression there was an amplified concern in Wisconsin about the burden which those in need of aid would place on the “fit” populace.  Forced sterilizations became increasingly popular as the middle class became more urbanized.  It was seen as an improvement for the individuals receiving the operations (removing the burden of parenthood), society as a whole, and to future generations in regard to overall racial purity (Painter).  Wisconsin academics convinced legislators that opposing eugenic sterilizations was both “unscientific and fiscally irresponsible” (Dowbiggin, p. 126).

Groups targeted and victimized

Although the law specifically listed several groups for sterilizations (Painter), those who were targeted in practice were primarily “feebleminded” because they were actually at risk of procreating.  The theory was that because severely mentally disabled people would be institutionalized with long term care for their entire lives no matter what, they had little need for sterilizations.  Sexually promiscuous people, however, would be most likely to reproduce and therefore would be targeted the most (Paul, p. 548).  Because of the nature in which society and legislators viewed promiscuity, women were more likely to be labeled as such than men and the impoverished lower class was more likely to be targeted than the middle and upper classes (Paul, p. 546).

Other restrictions placed on those identified in the law or with disabilities in general

In 1907 Wisconsin made it illegal for epileptic, feeble-minded, and insane people to marry.  It declared it a misdemeanor for any in these groups to have sexual intercourse (Vecoli, p. 195).  In 1913 Wisconsin also passed a law requiring the presentation of a medical certificate when applying for a marriage license.  This was declared unconstitutional in 1914 (“Eugenics Law”).

Major Proponents

Albert Wilmarth moved to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania.  He was the first director of the Home for the Feeble-Minded in Chippewa Falls.  He brought with him the notion that people are not only mentally but also morally imbecilic.  His influence over the large number of sterilizations of “habitual criminals and unchaste women” was immense (Vecoli, p. 194).  He is especially credited for advocating sterilization above confinement as a more efficient and fiscally responsible program (Dowbiggin, p. 125). 

  (Photo origin: American Sociological Association; available at http://www2.asanet.org/governance/ross.html).

Edward A. Ross (1866-1951) was a professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin where he was a principal figure in early criminology. He is credited with having coined the phrase “race suicide” in his article “The Causes of Racial Superiority” in 1901 and at the time of his death he was considered a trailblazer in the field of sociology (Hertzler, pp. 597-612). 

Charles Van Hise (1857-1918) was the President of the University of Wisconsin.  He promoted eugenic thought by founding the University of Wisconsin School of Criminology (Chamberlin, 1919).

“Feeder institutions” and institutions where sterilizations are performed

The Home for the Feeble-Minded in Chippewa Falls and the Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane were the two largest feeder and sterilization institutions (Vecoli, p. 193). 

   (Photo origin: Waymarking.com,  available at http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1KA4)

The Home for the Feeble-Minded is now known as the Northern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled.  It is in Chippewa Falls and is still used for the care of patients with developmental disabilities.  It briefly acknowledges its history as a center where sterilizations were performed in a basic timeline (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2007). 

  (Photo origin: Wisconsin Department of Health Services; available at http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/mh_winnebago/WMHI_Museum.htm)

The Wisconsin Hospital for the Insane was known as the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Winnebago, Wisconsin until 1997.  Its website fails to mention its relationship with eugenics, even though it is now a museum (Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2008).

Opposition

The Catholic community of Wisconsin dissented with the progressive, eugenic legislators because they pushed for interference with reproduction.  Archbishop Messmer of Milwaukee wrote a letter of complaint to the government immediately after the 1913 Bill was introduced, urging it to be shot down yet again (“Health-Marriage and Sterilization Acts”).  Sterilization programs were also fought by Democrats.  The 1913 law only won passage in the assembly by a narrow margin because Democrats were so strongly against it.  Although the socialist ideology also deplored sterilizations, four of the five socialists in the legislature voted for the passage of the bill (Vecoli, p. 200). There was also dissension within established eugenicists.  Charles Davenport was quoted in the New York Times denouncing Wisconsin’s requirement of medical certificates when applying for marriage licenses because he viewed the legislation as doing more harm than good and to be ineffective regarding the true goal of controlling reproduction (“Doctor Ridicules Laws”).  Specifically, there were also many people opposed to the sterilization of criminals because they viewed it as a form of punishment, and therefore as unconstitutional (Lombardo, p. 221).

Bibliography

Chamberlin, Thomas C.  1919. Biographical Memoir Charles Richard Van Hise. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

“Doctor Ridicules Laws for Eugenics.” 1914. The New York Times (June 21). 

Dowbiggin, Ian R. 1997. Keeping America Sane. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

“Eugenics Law is Declared Invalid.” 1914. The New York Times (January 14).

“Health-Marriage and Sterilization Acts are Adopted.” 1913. The New York Times. July 26.

Hertzler, Joyce O. 1951. “Edward Alsworth Ross: Sociological Pioneer and Interpreter.” American Sociological Review 16, 5: 597-612.

Laughlin, Harry H. 1922. Eugenical Sterilization in the United States. Chicago: Psychopathic Laboratory of the Municipal Court of Chicago.

Lombardo, Paul. 2008. Three Generations, No Imbeciles. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press.

Painter, G. 2001. “The Sensibilities of Our Forefathers; The History of Sodomy Laws in the Unites States.” Available at <http://www.glapn.org/sodomylaws/sensibilities/wisconsin.htm>.

Paul, Julius. 1965. "'Three Generations of Imbeciles Are Enough': State Eugenic Sterilization Laws in American Thought and Practice." Washington, D.C.: Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.

Vecoli, Rudolph J. 1960. “Sterilization: A Progressive Measure?” Wisconsin Magazine of History 43: 190-202.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 2007. “History of Northern Wisconsin Center.” Available at <http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/dd_nwc/aboutnwc/history.htm>.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services. 2008. “Winnebago Mental Health Institute.” Available at <http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/mh_winnebago/HISTORY.HTM>