Henry Herbert Goddard’s work studying the supposedly degenerate “Kallikak” family made him world famous. In the words of a teacher at the Vineland Training Center, it also made Emma Wolverton, aka Deborah Kallikak, the “World’s Best Known Moron.” But the acclaim Goddard achieved for his work faded as psychologists discovered fatal flaws with his research. However, before Goddard’s work was dismissed as worthless by the scientific community is was cited as justification for eugenic programs both at home and in Nazi Germany.

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

REFERENCES:

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

Cohen, Adam (2016) Imbeciles: The Supreme Court, American Eugenics, and the Sterilization of Carrie Buck

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.

Zimmer, Carl (2018) She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity