Talk:Carrie Buck

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 1 October 2020 and 16 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Macrofishe.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 18:41, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 August 2020 and 4 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Authenticfolk. Peer reviewers: Mfisher22.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 16:52, 16 January 2022 (UTC)

Why didn't she move?

This article begs the question, why didn't she leave the home for epileptics and feebleminded and move to another state? It seems strange that this case went to Supreme Court, and yet the simple expedient of running away never seemed to occur to her. Perhaps this is the best argument for her own feeblemindedness? Can someone try to find info on this aspect and add it to the article? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Brechbill123 (talk • contribs) 18:41, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

i'm thinking pregnant broke unskilled teenager with no family anywhere. makes it hard to move around. i can't find anything about this in the usual sources, but there were interviews with her in her later life. perhaps you'll find some answers there? — alf.laylah.wa.laylah (talk) 19:00, 15 September 2011 (UTC)

Access to Smith and Nelson reference?

The footnotes of Adam Cohen's book Imbeciles makes many reference to Sterlilzation of Carrie Buck by J. David Smith and K. Ray Nelson. I don't have a copy of this, but if anyone does, it seems like it would be a good reference for the details of the case and Buck's life. Here's the reference:

• Smith, J. David; Nelson, K. Ray (1989). Sterilization of Carrie Buck. New Horizon Press. ISBN 9780882820453.

The Google books preview is very limited: link. 0x0077BE ^{(talk · contrib)} 03:02, 26 June 2016 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

• John Dewey (23298371893).jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. Community Tech bot (talk) 17:07, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Suggestions for Article Revisions

Carrie Buck's first husband is listed in the biography box at the top of the article as dying in 1941, but in the article, he is listed as dying 1965, the year Buck remarried.

The reasons for Buck leaving home and the prosecution during the trial are the main focus of the article, which appears neutral, but the section on her legacy heavily implies the court ruling and subsequent sterilization was unjust.

Note: I have not every citation’s use of the listed sources. Citation #1’s link works, but the source lists Buck’s birthday as July 2nd, while the article lists it as the 3rd. Citation #2’s link works, but the source does support the claims in the article. The first reference to this citation claims the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 approved the sterilization, but the reference's source only lists accordance with a Virginia statute. However, the only ruling mentioned in a related section of the source is Jacobson v. Massachusetts. The second reference to this citation seems to be supported in the article, although it is risky to assume what Virginia's “best interest[s]” are. The third reference to this citation is a direct quote from the source, but there are two grammatical errors. The mistakes are that “, if” should be “if,” and “crime, or” should be “crime or.” Citation #3 does not have a link because it is for a printed book. It is unclear whether the source supports the claims in the article. Citation #9’s link works and the source does support the claim in the article.

Not every fact has a reference, and some are informal websites. Some references do not have links, making it difficult to look up the source. Some sources appear neutral, while the article “Dakota Johnson to tell the fucked-up true story of the government sterilizing ‘unfit’ women” for example, seem very biased. There does not seem to be any warning of biases for the sources.

The structure of Buck's background and trial are there, but there is missing the social context and significance of her life. The only things really mentioned about her legacy are that there may have been manufactured trial evidence and that a previous Virginia governor, Mark R. Warner, apologized for what eugenics did to Buck. Would it be redundant to summarize the social ramifications of Buck's trial addressed in the Wikipedia article “Buck v. Bell” mentioned in this article?

I plan to try to add missing details to Carrie Buck's time at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded and her trial summary as well as explain the important takeaways from Buck's life and legacy. For example, the trial summary focuses on the prosecution and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. What did the defense have to say? What did Buck’s experience mean other than providing a legitimizing win to the eugenics movement?

Also, it seems the mention of the 1924 Racial Integrity Act should be the 1924 Eugenical Sterilization Act instead.

Possible Additional Sources

Additionally, here are two sources I found that may be relevant to this article. Any thoughts?

Fisher, Louis. “PRIVACY RIGHTS.” In Reconsidering Judicial Finality, 121–41. Why the Supreme Court Is Not the Last Word on the Constitution. University Press of Kansas, 2019. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvqmp2sk.11.

Lombardo, Paul A. “Facing Carrie Buck.” The Hastings Center Report 33, no. 2 (2003): 14–17. https://doi.org/10.2307/3528148.

Authenticfolk (talk) 06:26, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

References