Historical Review: The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis
From 1932 to 1972, the United States Public Health Service conducted a secretive experiment called “The Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male.” In 1932, at the beginning of the Study an effective known treatment for syphilis did not exist. By conducting the study, the U.S. Public Health Service wanted to investigate the progression and effects of syphilis – without treatment. The study was administered at The Tuskegee Institute in Macon County, Alabama. 600 men were recruited to participate in the study. 399 participants already had syphilis and the remaining 201 did not have syphilis. All of the men in the study were African Americans and most were impoverished and illiterate sharecroppers from Macon County. The clinical researchers informed the men that they were being treated for “bad blood.” The researchers never informed the men that they were not being given adequate treatment for syphilis. The men were provided with free meals and rides to