Testimony of Eula Wood 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 Eula Wood, a teacher from Earleysville, Virginia. Her testimony begins near the middle of page 56 of this filing.
In her testimony, Eula is asked about Doris Buck, Carrie's 12-year-old half-sister. She describes Doris as "dull in her books" and having demoted her to 1st grade.
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, Eula is asked about Doris Buck, Carrie's 12-year-old half-sister. She describes Doris as "dull in her books" and having demoted her to 1st grade.
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
88**MISS EULA WOOD
a witness of lawful age, having been first duly swors, testified as fol-
lows:
Direct Examination
BY COL. STRODE:
Q Miss Wood, where do you live?
A I live at Earleysville
Q I never heard of Earleysville; would you mind saying a little more definitely where Earleysville is? Is it in the United States?
A Yes, sir, it is in Virginia. It is in Albemarle County.
Q What is your occupation?
A Teacher.
Q Do you know Doris Buck, the half-sister of Carrie Buck?
A Yes, sir, I know her.
Q What do you know about her?
A Well, I know very little about her. She is in my room. I have only had her six weeks.
Q And you know nothing about her?
Carrie Buck vs. Dr. J. H. Bell 57
A I know more than that. I don't really know so very much--I
have heard right much.
MR. WHITEHEAD: Of course, the same thing I said
89*
before--(regarding *objection to be made later if he so de-
sires).
Q Won't you please tell us what you do know?
A Well, she was going to school for six years, and last year she was promoted to the second grade, and this year I had to put her back. She couldn't do second year work.
Q Do the school records show that?
A No, sir, the school records have been lost.
Q And she comes to your school as having been in school six years?
A Yes, sir.
Q In what grade is she?
A She is in the first now. She was in the second, and I put her back.
Q Why did you do that?
A I suggested it; I didn't really do it myself. The Supervisor put her back.
Q Won't you tell us why it was done?
A Well, she couldn't keep up with the second-grade work.
Q She couldn't keep up with the second-grade work, although she had been in school six years?
A Yes, sir.
Q How old is Doris?
A Eleven or twelve.
90*
*Q Eleven or twelve, and still in the first grade in school?
A Still in the first grade.
Q Would you call her a bright child?
A No.
Q Would you call her a dull child?
A Well, she is dull in her books--I would call her dull in her books.
No Cross Examination
(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 Eula Wood; 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://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/testimony-eula-wood-buck-v-bell, March 29, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.