DS, one page, 9 x 11.5, January 20, 1912. Wilson, as governor of New Jersey, sends a woman to the “New Jersey State Institution for Feeble Minded Women.” In part: “You will please admit Anna L. Arnold…the age of 41 years into your Institution for instruction and support at the expense of the State of New Jersey for the term of one year…at the yearly sum of one hundred twenty five Dollars for clothing and you are hereby authorized to draw from the Treasury of this State semi-annually for a ratable portion of said allowance for such time as said Anna L. Arnold shall receive instruction and support…You will please make a semi-annual report giving the time of admission, progress of learning, state of health, and such remarks as the situation of said pupil may suggest.” In very good condition, with a few small separations along intersecting folds, scattered light damp staining, some lightly affecting portions of signature, uniform toning, a couple of pencil notations, and scattered pin holes.
The fate of Ms. Arnold seems incontrovertible. The 41-year-old woman was one of the countless men and women institutionalized in the 1910s—individuals deemed ‘feeble-minded’—in reality individuals suffering from a wide-ranging list of mental deficiencies—and subjected to sterilization measures. Governor Wilson enacted the legislation that made such involuntary committal possible in 1911. A three-man board was empowered to determine if ‘feebleminded, epileptics and other defectives’ should be sterilized. This board could also do the same to people in poor houses. Such eugenics enjoyed wide support among progressives of the early 20th century—including Wilson. The facility to which Ms. Arnold was hereby committed was established by Philip P. Baker, a New Jersey legislator who also set up the New Jersey Training School for Feeble-Minded Children. A shocking document from a much different era of psychological thought. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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