Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Miss Burke
Honors English 11
Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway, 2017. Print.
This book, written by Rebecca Skloot, contains a whole chapter dedicated to Night
Doctors and their activities. With the addition of some dialogue, the reader experiences a
firsthand account of these terrors and how they affected African American families.
While much of the stories about the Night Doctors are myths, the family in this book
firmly believe in their practices. This family was kin of Henrietta Lacks, who died in
John Hopkins Hospital years before. They are confident in the fact that John Hopkins has
This source discusses the early life of John Hopkins and the foundation of the Hospital.
She explains how he donated a sum of seven million dollars to the hopsital and appointed
twelve men to serve as his trustees. She briefly outlines the letter he wrote to these men,
which explained the purpose of the hospital and how it is supposed to function. She
emphasizes his concern for black children, low costs, and fair wages. The source reflects
on the success of the Hopkins Hospital in its early years. However, it later mentions the
She recalls a lawsuit between two women and John Hopkins hospital, where the women
sued Hopkins for purposely exposing their children to lead. Skloot also mentions a case
where the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against a man who received blood
from patients and used them for a study without consent. Despite this, the study was later
Halperin, Edward C. "The Poor, the Black, and the Marginalized as the Source of Cadavers in
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ca.20445/pdf>.
This source provides many historical accounts of graverobbing and Night Doctors
throughout the 1900’s. It highlights the hospitals, universities, and anatomy studies that
however little was done to stop it. Many people turned a blind eye to these acts and
ignored what they were doing. Meanwhile, resurrectionists were being paid for every
Halperin discusses the new anatomy laws that were passed in the United States and the
events that followed. Many anti-anatomy rioters sprung up in response to these new
guidelines. As anatomy became more publicly accepted, law enforcement over grave
robbing began to decline. Very few people were caught in the act, and most of them were
not severely punished. Halperin does an excellent job in explaining the historical
The article does an outstanding job identifying the usual targets of body snatchers and
night doctors. Halperin mentions that the people who were most commonly susceptible to
having their bodies taken were African Americans, the poor, and the marginalized. He
explains that these people often had few rights to protect them, and few people still alive
to speak for them. They became a prime target as a result of this, since the graverobbers
and the buyers had low risk. This source contains much evidence of the historical
significance of grave robbing and provides references to support the author’s claims.
Fr. Peter A. Clark, S.J., Ph.D. "Log in." Catholic Health Association of the United States. N.p.,
progress/article/september-october-2003/prejudice-and-the-medical-profession>.
Clark presents a logical and factual viewpoint of the preceding circumstances that led to
the tales of the Night Doctors. He discusses their origins as well as how time has affected
and twisted their true stories. The article describes the causes of racism in the community
Clark’s main argument derives from the Tuskegee Institute and their syphilis study on
African Americans. He acknowledges the unethical practices that were done during the
syphilis experiment, but then proceeds to explain what happened after. He makes a point
to differentiate between the meanings of ‘legend’ and ‘rumor.’ Clark mentions that
folklore largely comes from a legend that is passed down through generations with
tweaks in the story every time it is told. With all of the exaggerations that are added into
the story, it creates a very corrupt image of the medical field. Clark says that the African
This source is an excellent account of things change over time. It provides much
justification to how African Americans have mixed opinions on hospitals in the United
States. Clark does an outstanding job pointing out the flaws in the system during the
broken system.
"Body Snatching Around the World." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 21 May
2017. <http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/body-snatching-around-the-
world/>.
This source offers a brief overview of body snatching and graverobbing. Published by
PBS, this quick summary of body snatching provides enough information to make it an
interesting article. The authors refer to the first incident of body snatching in history,
which happened in 1319. They explain how four medical students of the medical school
of Bologna were caught in the act. The article discusses why there was a sudden rise in
body snatching during the eighteenth century. It mentions the revival of anatomy studies
and the desperate need for cadavers. Particularly, they refer to the resurrectionists, who
resurrectionists. It analyzes how these criminals would choose their targets, locations, and
digging procedures. One specific strategy that was used involved having women attend
the funeral of the grave they planned to dig up the next day. The few people that were
involved in this risky business became quite good at it. These grave robbers began
making a decent wage off of each body they managed to sell to their buyers.
Overall, this source is a great summation of the history of graverobbing and its
resurgence during the eighteenth century. While the information supplied is limited, it
still contains some valuable details. PBS does a fantastic job to supply people with what
Rothman, Joshua. "When Bigotry Paraded Through the Streets." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media
<https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/second-klan/509468/>.
This source primarily deals with the rise of the new Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. Rothman
does a fantastic job discussing their origins and their eventual rise to power. He believes
that the publicity of the Klan helped them gain massive amounts of followers. While it is
an estimate, Rothman says there were at least two and a half million followers by the late
1920s. He also claims that many families supported the KKK even if they were not direct
members of it.
The author uses great detail in describing the motives and actions carried out by members
of the Klan. He explains that while this group was based primarily on white supremacy, it
was not just anti-black. Rothman claims that the KKK came for Catholics, Jews, Asians,
Mexicans, and many more. It even states that abortion doctors and prostitutes were all
common targets for their terrors. They carried out whipping, floggings, torturing, and
murder.
To conclude the article, Rothman dissects the fall of the Klu Klux Klan. While it is still
up for debate, he believes that they basically self-destructed. He says that America’s fear
of foreign ideology was what hurt the Klan’s reputation. Shortly after their peak during
their march in Washington D.C., the Klan was on the downfall ever since. Rothman
presents multiple viewpoints on why the Klan failed, and overall makes convincing