The Tuskegee syphilis experiment, where doctors lied to their Black male patients about their diagnosis and treatment, began in 1932. It ended in
A) 1947, when penicillin became available.
B) 1954, when Jim Crow Laws ended.
C) 1965, when the Voting Rights Act passed.
D) 1972, when an employee leaked the story to the media.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Tuskegee syphilis experiment continued until 1972, when a whistleblower leaked the story to the media and exposed the unethical study. The study lasted for 40 years, from 1932 to 1972, and involved around 600 Black men who were lied to about their diagnosis and treatment for syphilis. Penicillin had been discovered and proven to be an effective treatment for syphilis by 1947, but the men were denied access to it as part of the study's protocol. The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination in the United States, but they were not directly tied to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment. The Voting Rights Act, which aimed to overcome legal barriers to African American voting, was passed in 1965, but it also had no direct connection to the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, Where Doctors Lied to Their Black