Testimony of Virginia Landis from Hearing on Appeal of Order to sterilize Carrie Buck
11/18/1924
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This document comes from the case file for Buck v. Bell, concerning the issue of involuntary sterilization. This statement of Evidence from Hearing on Appeal of Order to sterilize Carrie Buck includes testimony from Virginia Landis, a teacher from Charlottesville, Virginia. Her testimony begins near the middle of page 59 of this filing.
In her testimony, Virginia (who testified that she did not "know Carrie Buck at all") describes a George Dudley, a supposed relative of Carrie Buck. She describes George as "dull-minded" who was "slow in grasping things in school."
At 17 years old, Carrie Buck became pregnant (later reported to have been the result of rape, allegedly by a relative of her foster parents). Shortly after the birth of her child, her foster parents had her committed to the “Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded” on the grounds of feeble-mindedness, incorrigible behavior and promiscuity. Buck was declared mentally incompetent and her daughter was taken away from her.
Albert S. Priddy, the superintendent of the “Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded,” used Carrie to test the legality of Virginia’s involuntary sterilization law. John H. Bell replaced Priddy after his death in 1925.
On May 2, 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s statute allowing for the sterilization of people who were thought of as “unfit,” including the intellectually disabled. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. delivered the majority opinion of the Court, including: “It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind….Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” (This referenced the fact that Buck’s mother had been committed to a state institution, Buck’s diagnosis, and the assumption in the Court’s opinion that Buck’s children would be “socially inadequate.”)
Bell performed Buck’s sterilization on October 19, 1927. She was the first person involuntarily sterilized under Virginia’s Laws for the sterilization of persons considered “unfit” — an estimated 8,300 Virginians were sterilized under the state law from 1927 to 1972.
In her testimony, Virginia (who testified that she did not "know Carrie Buck at all") describes a George Dudley, a supposed relative of Carrie Buck. She describes George as "dull-minded" who was "slow in grasping things in school."
At 17 years old, Carrie Buck became pregnant (later reported to have been the result of rape, allegedly by a relative of her foster parents). Shortly after the birth of her child, her foster parents had her committed to the “Virginia Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded” on the grounds of feeble-mindedness, incorrigible behavior and promiscuity. Buck was declared mentally incompetent and her daughter was taken away from her.
Albert S. Priddy, the superintendent of the “Colony for Epileptics and Feeble-Minded,” used Carrie to test the legality of Virginia’s involuntary sterilization law. John H. Bell replaced Priddy after his death in 1925.
On May 2, 1927, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s statute allowing for the sterilization of people who were thought of as “unfit,” including the intellectually disabled. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. delivered the majority opinion of the Court, including: “It is better for all the world if, instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind….Three generations of imbeciles are enough.” (This referenced the fact that Buck’s mother had been committed to a state institution, Buck’s diagnosis, and the assumption in the Court’s opinion that Buck’s children would be “socially inadequate.”)
Bell performed Buck’s sterilization on October 19, 1927. She was the first person involuntarily sterilized under Virginia’s Laws for the sterilization of persons considered “unfit” — an estimated 8,300 Virginians were sterilized under the state law from 1927 to 1972.
Transcript
93**MISS VIRGINIA LANDIS,
a witness of lawful age, having been first duly sworn, testified as fol-
lows:
Direct Examination
BY MR. STRODE:
Q Miss Landis, where do you live?
A Charlottesville, Virginia.
Q Do you know George Dudley?
A Yes, sir.
Q Do you know his relationship to Carrie Buck?
A No, I don't know anything about Carrie Buck?
Q What do you know about George?
A George attended my school, and I would consider him a dull child, but a normal child.
Q How old is he?
A George told me he was eleven, but he was a very much overgrown boy for eleven years old. Now, he has not been in my school for two years.
Q Why do you say he is both a dull boy and a normal child?
A Well, we grade them as normal and dull and bright, and I class him with the dull-minded.
Q What evidence does he give of being dull?
A He is slow in grasping things in school.
Q How was he up on his grades?
A He was below the average. He was in the fifth
60 Carrie Buck vs. Dr. J. H. Bell
94*
*grade when he left school.
Q What was his age then?
A He told me eleven, but I heard from other people he was older than that.
Q Do you know George's brother, Arthur?
A Just to speak to him when I see him.
Q What do you know about him?
A Just enough to say "good morning" to him.
Q You say you know nothing of Arthur except to speak to him?
A Well, I have met him a few times, but I would not say I was acquainted with him. We would have some little entertainments at school and he would come and stand around, but I had no contact whatever with him. We would just speak to him.
Cross Examination
BY MR. WHITEHEAD:
Q Do you know what relation, if any, George and Arthur Dudley are to Carrie Buck?
A I don't know Carrie Buck at all.
(Witness stands aside.)
This primary source comes from the Records of the Supreme Court of the United States.
National Archives Identifier: 45637229
Full Citation: Statement of Evidence from Hearing on Appeal of Order to sterilize Carrie Buck: Testimony of Virginia Landis; 11/18/1924; Buck v. Bell (Case File #31681); Appellate Jurisdiction Case Files, 1792 - 2010; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, Record Group 267; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/testimony-virginia-landis-buck-v-bell, April 19, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.