
Life Imprisonment for ‘Feeble-Mindedness’?
The story of the ‘Kallikak’ family supposedly went back to an ancestor code-named ‘Martin Kallikak’, who as a young man had a relationship with a “feebleminded barmaid” that resulted in the birth of Martin Jr. Later, Martin married a “worthy Puritan woman”, and their union produced many productive people. But alas, the damage had been done, because Martin Jr, a drunkard and worthless individual, had many children, and those children were all morally and intellectually bankrupt.
By Lita Cosner
Originally published January, 2018
Helpful resources
The Dark Side of Charles Darwin
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Original article: Life imprisonment for ‘feeble-mindedness’?