The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment : A Black Massacre

This essay examines the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, wherein for 40 years (1932-1972) hundreds of black men suffering from advanced syphilis were studied but not treated. The 40-year study was controversial for reasons related to ethical standards; primarily because researchers knowingly failed to treat patients appropriately after the 1940s validation of penicillin as an effective cure for the disease they were studying. To explore the role of the racism in the controversial study, this essay analyzes the article written by Allan M. Brandt.

The book BAD BLOOD: THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT by James H. Jones was a very powerful compilation of years of astounding research, numerous interviews, and some very interesting positions on the ethical and moral issues associated with the study of human beings under the Public Health Service (PHS). "The Tuskegee study had nothing to do with treatment … it was a nontherapeutic experiment, aimed at compiling data on the effects of the spontaneous evolution of syphilis in black males" (Jones pg. 2). Jones is very opinionated throughout the book; however, he carefully documents the foundation of

In the chapter ‘Under the Shadow of Tuskegee: African Americans and Health Care”, focuses on the relationship between African American and medical community due to The Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Even though the original study was projected to last only 6 months, the study actually last about 40 years. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study took place from 1932 to 1972. Researchers informed the 699 men infected men and 201 uninfected that they were doing testing on “bad blood” (LaVEIST, 2002), a term used to describe illnesses such as anemia, syphilis, and fatigue. The men were promised free meal, burial insurance, and free

The Tuskegee Alabama Syphilis Study was a study conducted between the years of 1932 and 1972 by the US Public Health Services (USPHS) on 600 black uneducated males. Of the 600, 399 were in the late stages of syphilis and 201 did not have the disease. These men were chosen because of their lack of education and trust of government agencies to do the right thing in the offer of free medical care in exchange for their services. These men were not told that they had syphilis but that they had “bad blood.” Even when a cure was found, these men were never given the proper treatment for syphilis. The men passed the disease on to their wives and later to their kids. In 1972, a panel concluded that the study be

In the article Racism and Research: the Case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, by Allen M. Brandt, he discusses a few mains point. The main points of the article is Racism and Medical Opinions, the origins of the experiment, how they selected the subjects, and the HEW final report. In the first point, Racism and Medical Opinions, many of the scientist believed that even with all the “education or philanthropy” the black Americans can’t be cured whether it has to do with diseases or crime. The black Americans also had a lot of deficits and were considered imperfection. Doctors say that the black Americans had a “sexual desire” which puts a lot of the whites in danger. They also say

3.) In your opinion, how should the data be used that is obtained from an unethical experiment and how can we prevent this from happening again?

Have you ever wondered where a doctor’s method came from? Or so much to even, think who came up with the original idea? America has an interesting medical history, or as I like to call them experiments. Some of those experiments were a positive asset to the history, but others were horrifying. One of those horrifying events would be Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. James H. Jones, the author of “Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment”, covered a book on the historical event. The study was for how the African American male is affected by untreated syphilis. But through the evolvement of the experiment, it became about the neurological aspect. It also depicts the American Government for its untrustworthiness in the health care world.

During the forty year Tuskegee Study, the government overstepped its duties and infringed on innocent African American lives. Researchers in Macon County, Alabama started this study in 1932 in order to examine the effects of untreated syphilis in African American men. The study began with 399 subjects with the disease and 201 without it; by the time the research was halted in 1972, over one hundred of the men had died (Jones 2). One government organization involved in this experimentation acted particularly irrationally: the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The CDC knew

The book BAD BLOOD: THE TUSKEGEE SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT by James H. Jones was a very powerful compilation of years of astounding research, numerous interviews, and some very interesting positions on the ethical and moral issues associated with the study of human beings under the Public Health Service (PHS). "The Tuskegee study had nothing to do with treatment … it was a nontherapeutic experiment, aimed at compiling data on the effects of the spontaneous evolution of syphilis in black males" (Jones pg. 2). Jones is very opinionated throughout the book; however, he carefully documents the foundation of those opinions with quotes from letters and medical journals.

According the to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was conducted in 1932 by the Public Health, which included 600 black men as their test subjects. Of the 600 men, 399 had syphilis and 201 didn’t (CDC). The men were told that they were being treated for “Bad Blood” and didn’t have any knowledge of being included in a study (CDC). In exchange for their services, researchers offered the men free medical exams, burial insurance, and free meals (CDC). The study was called “ The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” (CDC).

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study took place over a time period of almost fifty years. During the investigation, John Heller, Director of the Venereal Disease unit for the PHS was interviewed, one of his comments was; “The men’s status did not warrant ethical debate. They were subjects, not patients; clinical material not people” (Tuskegee University). The way these men were treated and looked upon and

The Tuskegee Syphilis experiment (The official name was Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male) began in the 1930’s. It was an experiment on African Americans to study syphilis and how it affected the body and killed its victims done by Tuskegee Institute U.S. Public Health Service researchers. The initial purpose of the Syphilis study “was to record the natural history of syphilis in Blacks” (Tuskegee University, “About the USPHS Syphilis Study,” par. 2). The study was necessary because syphilis was a disease that didn’t yet have an official cure (when the study began in the 30’s). There were 600 men in all; 399 had syphilis and 201 served as a control group for the experiment. The

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was an infamous clinical study conducted between 1932-1972 in Macon Country, Alabama by the U.S Public Health Service. The purpose was to study the natural progression of untreated syphilis in rural African American men who thought they were receiving free health care from the U.S government; about four hundred African American men were denied. The doctors that were involved in this study had a shifted mindset; they were called “racist monsters”; “for the most part, doctors and civil servants simply did their jobs. Some merely followed orders, others worked for the glory of science” (Heller) The men that were used for the study got advantage of, especially those

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was an unethical prospective study based on the differences between white and black males that began in the 1930’s. This study involved the mistreatment of black males and their families in an experimental study of the effects of untreated syphilis. With very little knowledge of the study or the disease by participants, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study can be seen as one of the worst forms of injustices in the United States history. Even though one could argue that the study was originally intended to be for good use, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was immoral and racist because only poor, uneducated black males were used in experiment, the participants were not properly informed of their participation in the

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment was an experiment conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 197. In this experiment, the investigators recruited 399 African American share croppers infected with syphilis. Their purpose was to study the effects of the untreated disease. In 1932 the standard treatments for syphilis were toxic and it was questionable whether or not they actually worked. The goal, at the experiment’s beginning, was to determine if a patient was better off without such toxic treatments. The experimenters also hoped to develop effective methods of treating each stage of syphilis. They also hoped to be able to justify treatment programs for blacks. However, by 1947 penicillin became the new and effective medical