At Middlebury College, the most iconic image of the picturesque institution is its chapel, once known as the Mead Memorial Chapel. It is now simply called the Middlebury Chapel after the school stripped away the name of its donor, the late Gov. John Mead. The reason was his support of eugenics. However, in a recent brief, former Vermont governor James Douglas seemed to put the “you” into eugenics by claiming that it was the college itself that was committed to eugenics more than the governor. Built in 1916 with a donation from Mead (Class of 1864) and his wife, the chapel has long been the central focus of the campus.“In 1912, two years before the chapel gift was made, in his outgoing speech as governor, John Mead strongly urged the legislature to adopt policies and create legislation premised on eugenics theory. His call to action resulted in a movement, legislation, public policy, and the founding of a Vermont state institution that sterilized people—based on their race, sex, ethnicity, economic status, and their perceived physical conditions and cognitive disabilities. John Mead’s documented actions in this regard are counter in every way to our values as an institution, and counter to the spiritual purpose of a chapel, a place to nurture human dignity and possibility, and to inspire, embrace, and comfort all people.”
However, Douglas and others continue to cry foul over how the college has brushed over its far more significant ties to eugenics and scapegoated the former governor. The brief claims that “Middlebury College was literally, a Eugenicist factory, for over 50 years” with required classes on the practice and widespread support for the sterilization of what were called “defectives & degenerates.” The college was recognized as one of the schools teaching and advancing eugenics in the United States.
Douglas compares that history with the single reference to eugenics cited by the college in Mead’s 1912 Farewell Address. He claims that “reviewing the long history of Eugenics at Middlebury College from 1895 to 1946, brings one to the inescapable conclusion that it was Middlebury College itself which contributed to the philosophical and scientific basis for the Nazi program of Eugenics, not one speech in 1912 by Governor Mead.” This allegedly included press conferences and courses advancing the theory.
This historical period included many American figures who embraced the theory. Classes, as shown in this picture, were held around the country. Funding of programs came from sources such as the Carnegie Institution, and the Rockefeller Foundation,
As discussed in my book, The Indispensable Right,” Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes upheld such sterilizations in his infamous Buck v. Bell decision where he declared that “three Generations of Imbeciles are Enough.”
Douglas told The College Fix the issue is one of integrity and the commitment to donors. He insisted that it must be courts, not colleges, that should make such decisions.
Critics have accused the college of using the name removal as a type of historical cancel campaign and virtue signaling. The alternative would have been to keep the name while acknowledging the troubling connection for both Mead and the college to the study of eugenics.
It seems like Middlebury is also targeting — and tarnishing — Mead because he was a Christian, and this was a Christian chapel. It is ironic that the secular eugenicists seek to scapegoat Christians for their own actions. Seems to be a thing….
It’s ironic that Middlebury removed Mead’s name while seemingly ignoring its own deeper history with eugenics. A more balanced approach could have been acknowledging both Mead’s and the college’s roles, creating space for reflection and education. Erasing names doesn’t erase history—it risks oversimplifying it.
“[We gave you] a republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin
_________________
You couldn’t.
https://www.meadmemorialchapel.com/
For those interested in legal analysis, I suggest reading through the entire Oct. 3 Order cited by Professor Turley above.
Of interest are the arguments to and fro over whether Mead’s money for the construction of the chapel was a “gift,” or instead, conditioned (precedent and subsequent) as part of a contractual agreement, including consideration of the parties’ intent, some of which may fall outside of the “four corners.”
Of particular interest is the college’s argument that there was no reversionary clause if the naming of the chapel were not held in perpetuity, countered by Douglas’ argument that such language was not used or contemplated 100 years ago (see bottom of p.8).
That Oct 3 order is indeed quite an order, including history dating back to great-great-grandma’s Christian services in a wigwam – the first white settlers in an “unbroken land.”
Including re-opening Mead’s probate case, so that Douglas could pursue the name change case -a sort of exhumation?
The judge thinks, for purposes of analysis, that 100 years of the use of the Mead name is sufficient/enough. “Substantial compliance”with the original funding of the chapel.
And, that for purposes of law, there is a claim – without damages. Because Mead has been dead for over 100 years. A possible claim without a remedy.
And the court needs to know what damages could possibly be claimed.
Is it a gift or a contract? For purposes of summary judgment – neither.
Interesting observation on the purpose of the chapel by the Rev. Barton in the acceptance speech on behalf of the Board of Trustees:
This chapel will provide for the generations of students and faculties of this college that to which the other buildings cannot minister. To this place all will turn in order to experience the reality of the unseen, to satisfy the thirst of the soul for God.
Ivy League universities have been in the process of re-naming buildings because – slave ownership and trade.
Three generations of imbeciles is enough… 😂
It seems to me that Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest is a sort of eugenics on a grand scale; and let us not forget the truly effective eugenics of Margaret Sanger and her politics of abortion for the dark masses…. Just where do these knuckleheads get off getting so incensed over eugenics when they seem to wish it on all the MAGA supporters when they are screaming death to America and death to the Jews. The hypocrisy of the prog/left is sickening and a product of their tiny closed, indoctrinated, and brainwashed minds.
Well, I would say then get back the donation for the chapel. Adjusting, of course, for inflation
@whimsicalmama
Yup. And not at all surprising these folks will decry this in their ‘safe space’ but ignore the eugenic bent of the founder of, for example, their precious Planned Parenthood. It’s hypocrisy, fragility, and madness all around; there is nothing redeeming about the modern left, and the children now running the show for them are marching them toward their own destruction (see Labour in Britain. Why grown-a$$ adults that know better keep capitulating to this madness is anybody’s guess, because the $$$ ain’t that great over there, either). Here in America it’s beginning to be over, we’ve had enough, and it will hopefully never come back to haunt us again). I personally have a feeling the dam will break soon, globally. Guess we’ll see, and we will likely lead the way out of the darkness *again*. God bless our Constitution.
Now it appears that President Laurie Patton is moving on to become President of a Heritage American organization – the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. I assume she will bring her brand of Woke politics there as well.
https://www.middlebury.edu/announcements/announcements/2024/05/laurie-l-patton-named-president-american-academy-arts-sciences
Remarkable how this spate of female college/university presidents has been cashiered because they couldn’t read the proverbial
tea leaves. So much for meritless promotions. Equality of opportunity based on merit has yet to be achieved.
I do hope there will be no further funding for any “agenda-driven” organizations…starting with public broadcasting, the NEA and the NEH; also include any grant monies (ie the taxpayer’s monies) given to universities who swing left, cultural institutions with an agenda (whether left or right), libraries that condone transvestite readings for children etc. Hit these agenda-driven organizations where it hurts the most – their wallets.
Ya-Know Jonathan. I have the same problem with Presidential Libraries.
You’ve got the; Truman Library, LBJ Library, the Bill Clinton Library, the George Bush (I&II) Libraries, etc, etc, …
Now we all know that these Men were directly involved with the annihilation of souls (i.e.: WW.II (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), Vietnam War, the Central American Wars, the Middle East Wars, etc. etc. … ).
The “the infamous practice” of engaging in eugenics under the thinly veiled auspiciously political venue of “War”.
What Say Ye? Shall we tear them down or keep on acting like the ‘eugenics, ethnic, and religious cleansing’ nothing happened. Much like what’s happening on the World’s Stage today is never happening.
After all “John Foster Dulles ain’t nothing but the name of an airport now”. (ref. Gill Scott-Heron – B Movie)
Hummmm … What to do about ‘misinformation of history’ and the buildings that enshrine them, and or, lock away the Truth(s) forever like the National Archives.
John Foster Dulles United States Secretary of State under president Dwight D. Eisenhower and Harry S. Truman from 1953 until his resignation in 1959.
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0225.html
I digress, Just as We practice a ‘Separation of Church and State’, why don’t We begin the practice of the ‘Separation of Truth and Fiction’, in the Public realm.
Certainly we ‘discover’ the truth as the years past and the doors to the secrecy are open, Then why not make the corrections to the historical record. Particularly are they are inscribed up on our; Libraries, Airports, Parks, Postal Offices, etc….
Hey! are there any ACLU Attorneys out there listening? Lets get on with it! 😈
Actually John Foster was the subject of a pop song, “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles”. How quickly the American mind forgets!
Carol Burnett, 24, sings her rendition of “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles” on Aug. 14, 1957.
And his brother Al blew JFK’s brains out on a nightmare called Elm Street in Dallas, Texas.
Maybe some day they will be naming a Truck Stop and Bus Depot for these two (respectively):
John R. Bolton served as Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor from April 2018 to September 2019
Former United States Ambassador to the United Nations
Frm. Lt. Col. Vindman (former White House official responsible for Ukraine policy)
https://democrats-foreignaffairs.house.gov/2019/11/committees-release-vindman-and-hill-transcripts-as-part-of-impeachment-inquiry
A fitting tribute to today’s Tactical Nuclear Warmongers.
Up here in wWatertown, NY, we have the Dulles State Office building right across the street from the First Presbyterian Church which is my church AND the family church of the Dulles brothers; natives of Watertown. This used to be a rather uptight conservative area until the development of Fort Drum and with it came scads of government bureaucrats and their prog/left ways. We are still red but the battle goes on against the invading lefties.
The DIE, or DEI of one hundred years ago, was eugenics, formed from Madison Grant’s 1916 book, The Passing of the Great Race. Grant, an NYC lawyer, co-founder of the Bronx Zoo with many interests in natural history such as predator-prey relationships, was a friend of TR, among other NYC worthies. After Grant’s book was published and widely distributed, he received an enthusiastic letter from Hitler who eventually put into practice what he’d learned from his “friends” across the pond. Never underestimate the far reaching effects of American influence.
Many goofy enthusiasms are promoted by the “well-schooled” [as opposed to the educated] only to wither in subsequent decades. If every withered enthusiasm is to be expunged when deemed “offensive” by succeeding generations, all structures would be temporary. Accept what the past has done; learn from it; and be prepared to have your schemes similarly judged generations from now.
Your last paragraph, starting with “If every withered enthusiasm….”
Nice. Very good indeed.
On top of that, Mead’s entire research in Samoa has been called into question. Apparently she was fooled by some teenage girls!
Former Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, made one of the greatest retirement speeches in over 200 years of American history – accurately explaining the American Oath of Office.
Milley’s speech (and warning) should be mandatory education for the CIA, NSA, DoD, FBI, DOJ and every official with policing authority.
Even Trump supporters should read Milley’s retirement speech! His wisdom would restore integrity to these agencies!
On January 17, 1961, in his farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower saw disgraced General Mark Milley coming down the pike.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
Dwight David Eisenhower
When Milley receives his pardon, it will confirm what Ike said.
” . . . that *sterilized* people—based on their . . . sex, . . . and their perceived physical conditions and [psychological] disabilities.” (emphasis added)
Wait a minute.
Via hormone therapy and surgery, that is precisely what “gender-affirming” care does — to children.
Yet the Left views eugenics as barbaric, but GFC as enlightened?!
Came here to say this. I see no difference between sterilizing people without their consent, and sterilizing people too young to give effective consent.
Wy wife attended a program through Middlebury for several years, amazing how far they’ve fallen with a simple generational shift.
We are too large and too free a society for this Mao-esque behavior to stand, but by all means, if these universities want to shoot themselves in the foot and be extensions of CHAZ, let them sally forth on their trek to irrelevancy and bankruptcy. They are already there in terms of the quality of their education and basic morality.
I think that, in general, we, in assessing leaving on or removing a name from a building, need to assess his/her whole body of work and the context of the times. In this case, weigh one speech – in the mainstream – against his service to the state (and who knows what all) and Holmes’ various distinguished services to society, amid the fervor of eugenics. Given what Mr Douglas has found, it’s Middlebury whose name should be removed, if any name should be.
The attempt to remove uncomfortable facts from our history books is a kind of cultural eugenics. No crime is greater than re-writing history. The record is the record, and not even God should tamper with it.
“Cultural eugenics” is a brilliant term. Thanks!
Well this certainly did not trouble Planned Parenthood for decades before they disavowed Margaret Sanger, their founder, in 2020 because of her Eugenics support and Racism. Strangely she was also against abortion. Of course if it was just the former governor that was at fault you just have to disappear him and his name. But if it was the entire college, well then any right thinking progressive would demand that the college be torn down, the foundations pulled up and the earth sown with salt. I mean it’s the only way to be sure the apostasy was totally removed.
I would suppose it might be too much to demand the faculty and students should all march around the campus 3 times while performing self flagellation for atonement.
My training in anesthesiology in an inner city hospital several years after the 1973 RVW Court ruling involved ambulatory service on the Ob-Gyn abortion unit. To my utter dismay, on some days, the volume and pace was akin to a sale day during a national holiday, with Sanger’s ghost lurking in the background. Birth control by surgery, if you will. Sadly, back then, in the face of it, t’was not uncommon to hear a racist quip that the RvW ruling was ‘the great white hope’, The experience on that unit was sobering.
Just wait until schools discover the eugenic origin of abortion! (Haha, jk, they already know and don’t care. In fact, they think this form of eugenics is a good thing.)
Eugenics was not a fringe movement at that time — it was very much in the mainstream.
And it was embraced by the progressive movement of that day, as bringing science and expertise to the solution of social problems.
Progressives are racists. We have to remember that Planned Parenthood placed their clinics convenient to the black population. They killed black babies. Not only that, but they were the leaders of the segregation movement and our immigration policies to restrict immigrants.
They change their face with the wind and can never be trusted.
Eugenics – adopted by the Nazis – was and is blatantly unconstitutional under the American system.
In the United States, it not only included forced sterilizations but using human Guinea Pigs in fatal experiments. Literally a death penalty to innocent Americans never convicted of any crime or any wrongdoing whatsoever.
After World War Two, our federal intelligence agencies then hired the Nazi doctors and scientists to continue the eugenics movement (literal death penalty) on innocent American citizens, in American hospitals, inside the United States.
If Oliver Wendell Holmes supported this movement, his name should be removed as well.