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The Eugenics Survey of Vermont was a survey that gathered biological, familial, and social information of Vermonters in order to further eugenic policies in the state. [1] The survey existed from 1925-1936 and resulted in the sterilization of at least 250 Vermonters, most of them women. [2] Because of incomplete records, it is likely that the actual number of forced sterilizations was higher than this. [3] [4]
On January 19, 1927, Henry F. Perkins, a professor of zoology at the University of Vermont, addressed the state legislature and suggested the creation of a record-keeping system for tracking perceived familial deficiencies in the state. [2] [5]
At least 250 people were forcibly sterilized due to Vermont's policies, which disproportionately impacted marginalized groups. [6] Women, poor people, disabled people, French Canadians, children, and indigenous people (particularly the Abenaki) bore the brunt of the impact. [7] In addition to forced sterilization, families were separated, often by institutionalizing adults while placing children in foster care. [8]
On March 31, 2021, the Vermont House of Representatives voted unanimously to apologize for the State's involvement in the eugenics movement. [9] [10] [11]
On May 12, 2021, the Vermont Senate unanimously voted to support the House bill apologizing for the legislature's involvement in the eugenics movement. [9] [12] [13]
In 2023, the state legislature authorized the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission. [14]
On October 27, 2018, the University of Vermont renamed its library because of Guy Bailey's involvement in eugenics in Vermont. [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] On June 21, 2019, President E. Thomas Sullivan apologized for the University's involvement in the eugenics survey. [20] [21] [22] [23] [7]
On January 9, 2018, the Vermont Library Board voted to recommend renaming of the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award due to Dorothy Canfield Fisher's possible ties to the eugenics movement. [24] [25] [26] On May 3, 2019, the Vermont Department of Libraries announced that the award would be renamed in 2020. [27] [28] The award was subsequently renamed the Vermont Golden Dome Book Award. [29]
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the state had a population of 643,503, ranking it the second least populated U.S. state. It is the nation's sixth smallest state in area. The state's capital of Montpelier is the least populous U.S. state capital. No other U.S. state has a most populous city with fewer residents than Burlington.
The University of Vermont (UVM), officially titled as University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. Founded in 1791, the university is the oldest in Vermont and the fifth-oldest in New England, making it among the oldest in the United States.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher was an educational reformer, social activist, and best-selling American author in the early 20th century. She strongly supported women's rights, racial equality, and lifelong education. Eleanor Roosevelt named her one of the ten most influential women in the United States. In addition to bringing the Montessori method of child-rearing to the U.S., she presided over the country's first adult education program and shaped literary tastes by serving as a member of the Book of the Month Club selection committee from 1925 to 1951.
The geologic history of Vermont begins more than 450 million years ago during the Cambrian and Devonian periods.
Joseph Spencer DeJarnette was the director of Western State Hospital from 1905 to November 15, 1943. He was a vocal proponent of racial segregation and eugenics, specifically, the compulsory sterilization of the mentally ill.
Daniel Mark Fogel was President of the University of Vermont, located in Burlington, Vermont, a post he held from July 1, 2002 to July 31, 2011.
Vincent Illuzzi, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician from Derby, Vermont who formerly served as a Republican member of the Vermont State Senate representing the Essex-Orleans senate district.
The Vermont Golden Dome Book Award annually recognizes one new American children's book selected by the vote of Vermont schoolchildren. It was inaugurated in 1957.
Pico Peak is a mountain in the Green Mountains in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. Pico Peak is flanked to the south by Ramshead Peak. To the north, it faces Deer Leap Mountain across Sherburne Pass. Seen from the pass, the summit of Pico Peak resembles a cone.
Henry Farnham Perkins (1877–1956) was an American zoologist and eugenicist.
Mary Downing Hahn is an American writer of young adult novels and a former school librarian. She is known for books such as Stepping On The Cracks and Wait Till Helen Comes. She published her first book in 1979 and has since written over 30 novels. Her novel What We Saw was published in September 2022.
The Fairview Training Center was a state-run facility for people with developmental disabilities in Salem, Oregon, United States. Fairview was established in 1907 as the State Institution for the Feeble-Minded. The hospital opened on December 1, 1908, with 39 patients transferred from the Oregon State Hospital for the Insane. Before its closure in 2000, Fairview was administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS continued to operate the Eastern Oregon State Hospital in Pendleton until October 31, 2009.
David Wolf Budbill was an American poet and playwright. He was the author of eight books of poems, eight plays, two novels, a collection of short stories, a children's picture book, and dozens of essays.
The Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation is a state-recognized tribe and nonprofit organization, called AHA "Abenaki Helping Abenaki", whose headquarters and land are based in Vermont. They are often referred to as the Nulhegan Abenaki Tribe or simply, Nulhegan.
Abraham Brookins Gardner was a Vermont attorney and businessman who served as 25th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1865 to 1867.
Guy Winfred Bailey was an American politician and educator. He served as Secretary of State of Vermont and president of the University of Vermont.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Vermont on November 3, 2020. All of Vermont's executive officers were up for election, as well as Vermont's at-large seat in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections were held on August 11, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. state of Vermont is part of an ongoing worldwide viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
Molly Rose Gray is an American attorney and politician who served as the 83rd lieutenant governor of Vermont from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she was an assistant attorney general for Vermont from 2018 to 2021.
The Green Mountain Parkway was a proposed scenic highway in the U.S. state of Vermont. The project was first introduced around 1934, and was proposed to run for 260 mi (420 km) over ridges of the Green Mountains. The parkway was modeled after the Blue Ridge Parkway or Skyline Drive in the American South. In 1935, the project was approved, and a referendum was held to choose between a 1936 or 1941 effective date; voters chose the latter date. By 1937, the parkway project became unpopular, and the 1937 legislature repealed the Green Mountain Parkway Act, effectively shuttering the proposal.
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