The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scaleTerman, Lewis M. (Lewis Madison)
Science
The measurement of intelligence : $b an explanation of and a complete guide for the use of the Standard revision and extension of the Binet-Simon intelligence scale
_The Kallikak family._ Martin Kallikak was a youthful soldier in
the Revolutionary War. At a tavern frequented by the militia he
met a feeble-minded girl, by whom he became the father of a
feeble-minded son. In 1912 there were 480 known direct
descendants of this temporary union. It is known that 36 of
these were illegitimates, that 33 were sexually immoral, that 24
were confirmed alcoholics, and that 8 kept houses of ill-fame.
The explanation of so much immorality will be obvious when it is
stated that of the 480 descendants, 143 were known to be
feeble-minded, and that many of the others were of questionable
mentality.
A few years after returning from the war this same Martin
Kallikak married a respectable girl of good family. From this
union 496 individuals have been traced in direct descent, and in
this branch of the family there were no illegitimate children,
no immoral women, and only one man who was sexually loose. There
were no criminals, no keepers of houses of ill-fame, and only
two confirmed alcoholics. Again the explanation is clear when it
is stated that this branch of the family did not contain a
single feeble-minded individual. It was made up of doctors,
lawyers, judges, educators, traders, and landholders.[2]
[2] H. H. Goddard: _The Kallikak Family_. (1914.) 141 pp.
_The Hill Folk._ The Hill Folk are a New England family of which
709 persons have been traced. Of the married women, 24 per cent
had given birth to illegitimate offspring, and 10 per cent were
prostitutes. Criminal tendencies were clearly shown in
24 members of the family, while alcoholism was still more
common. The proportion of feeble-minded was 48 per cent. It was
estimated that the Hill Folk have in the last sixty years cost
the State of Massachusetts, in charitable relief, care of
feeble-minded, epileptic, and insane, conviction and punishment
for crime, prostitution pauperism, etc., at least $500,000.[3]
[3] Danielson and Davenport: _The Hill Folk_. Eugenics Record Office,
Memoir No. 1. 1912. 56 pp.
The Nam family and the Jukes give equally dark pictures as
regards criminality, licentiousness, and alcoholism, and
although feeble-mindedness was not as fully investigated in
these families as in the Kallikaks and the Hill Folk, the
evidence is strong that it was a leading trait. The 784 Nams who
were traced included 187 alcoholics, 232 women and 199 men known
to be licentious, and 40 who became prisoners. It is estimated
that the Nams have already cost the State nearly $1,500,000.[4]
[4] Estabrook and Davenport: _The Nam Family_. Eugenics Record Office
Memoir No. 2. (1912). 85 pp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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