210:
McCullochâs solution was three-fold. McCulloch recommended that the government of
Indianapolis âclose up official out-door relief⌠check private and indiscriminate benevolence, or charity, falsely so called... get hold of the children.â From this case study, McCulloch laid the groundwork for a national obsession with the Ishmael family. Nowhere was the impact of the Ishmael family felt more than in the field of eugenics.
242:âThe individuals in this large group of feeble-minded folk are continuing to mate like to like, and are reproducing their own kind. Some few branches of the Tribe have mated into better stocks, but these are so few that they are hardly noticeable. The few placed in orphansâ homes and new environments have in some cases done better, but this has not changed the whole mass to any extent. The greater portion are still the
179:."â These human parasites, McCulloch stated, were draining the city of Indianapolis of its resources and exacerbating their own problems by receiving charity. McCulloch put the number of families in the study at thirty, with the Ishmaels being the âcentral, the oldest and the most widely ramified family.â It appears likely that McCulloch also chose to publicize the Ishmael family due to the name's association to the
334:. Leaming was fascinated by the Ishmael clan, and his reinvention of their narrative coincided with his own radical reinvention, as he too claimed a tri-racial ethnicity and adopted a Muslim faith. Often lacking evidence, Leaming (later known as Hugo Prosper Leaming Bey, a reflection of his newfound Muslim identity) wrote that the family was âa tightly knit nomadic community of
233:
Eventually pedigree charts were made to determine whether character flaws such as laziness could be deemed hereditary. Between 1915 and 1922, Charles
Estabrook, a noted eugenics researcher from the Eugenics Record Office resumed the study of the Ishmael family and was given access to the unpublished
305:
with âsome of the finest stock in the world.â However, âwe have received also some degenerate stock from the same nation. We should have sorted the human seed more carefully at the border.â Laughlin mentioned the
Ishmaels, saying âI do not know why they call these people the Ishmaels, but they are
309:
Testifying before a House of
Representatives Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, Laughlin explained âdegenerate familiesâŚso common there much be something wrong with them,â such as the Jukes and the Ishmaels. After hearing such testimony, the United States Congress eventually passed the
209:
This grim picture was summed up by McCullochâs claim that âthey underrun society like devil grass. Pick up one, and the whole five thousand would be drawn up.â Due to the âforce of heredity,â each generation would likely repeat this life of crime and immorality unless the state intervened.
416:, there is no reason to believe the Ishmael family was, in terms of economic standing and religion, anything but a poor Christian family targeted by eugenics researchers. Nevertheless, in terms of race and ethnic origins, Deutsch also concluded that several of the Ishmaels were mixed-race
381:, there was Ben Ishmael, an "earlier Islamic saint or Imam," in America. Leaming simultaneously speculated that the "Ben-Ishmael" family name was actually derived from Arabic to mean "اب٠اسŮ
اؚŮŮ" (Ibn Ismail) or "Son of Ishmael," an Islamic reference to Muslims' supposed lineage through
246:
folk as now found by McCulloch and are breeding true to the type. These germ plasms have now spread through the whole middle west and are continuing to spread the anti-social trait of their germ plasm with no check by society. The story of the Tribe of
Ishmael is but another picture of
190:â, or travel in wagons east or west.â In addition, the Ishmaels were known for âlicentiousness which characterizes the men and women,â and their lifestyle was encouraged by âalmost unlimited public and private aid.â McCulloch claimed that the Ishamel clan had a criminal record of mostly
342:,ââ while selectively quoting from the family histories written by McCulloch and Wright. Leaming proclaimed that previous Ishmael campsites formed the ânuclei of present-day black communities, and Ishmaelites of the diaspora participated in the rise of
306:
very numerous, and we can imagine a significant connotation for the name. America is suffering very much from them, but is waking to its danger. We shall have to provide some practical plan for getting rid of this stock.â
396:
Leamingâs reinvention of the
Ishmael story as a diverse, crypto-Muslim tribe, bridging the gap of "African and American Islam," and comprising a "lost-found nation in the wilderness of North America," was discredited by
259:
Such family history studies of a supposedly degenerate family were one of several factors behind the passage of eugenic sterilization laws. In 1907, Indiana was the first state to pass a law regarding
186:
The family was described as âtow-headedâ or white blond, aside from a âhalf-breedâ (half Native
American) mother. The Ishmaels were explained to have âwandering blood,â causing them to ââ
88:
After mostly slipping out of national consciousness for much of the 20th century, the history of the
Ishmael tribe was radically reinvented by Hugo Prosper Leaming in an essay called
148:. Among these migrants were a family with the surname of Ishmael, who became the subject of a decade-long study for McCulloch. McCulloch recorded in his diary that he was aware of
36:
during the late 19th and early 20th century because of their supposed association with the
Ishmael family. Records of the Ishmael family show that it originally hailed from
283:âTo a considerable extent the pre-eminent position taken by the State of Indiana in the matter of eugenical legislation in 1907 can be traced back to his studies.â
218:
The story of the Tribe of
Ishmael was one of a number of family history case studies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Other notable studies included
159:
In July 1888, McCulloch, the president of the Indianapolis Benevolent Society, went public with his finding on the Tribe of Ishmael in a speech entitled
100:
tri-racial sect of indigenous peoples Europeans and enslaved Africans. Much of Leamingâs narrative was refuted by the extensively researched 2009 book
238:, on the supposed licentiousness and immoral behavior of the "Ishmaelite" family, as well as their annual '"gypsying." Estabrook concluded that:
353:
To back up this assertion, Leaming chose sections of documents regarding the Tribe of Ishmael to make it appear the family regularly engaged in
788:
132:, McCulloch entered Indianapolis during a period of widespread poverty. Many of the urban poor in Indianapolis at the time were migrants from
69:, and his assistant James Frank Wright. Following McCullochâs published report in 1888 regarding the Tribe of Ishmael, eugenicists such as
109:
326:
The Tribe of Ishmael was largely forgotten in American culture, until 1977, one hundred years since their initial "discovery," when a
793:
783:
37:
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468:
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would interview members of a community that knew individuals of the given family and examine the family's public records.
81:
called the Indiana Plan. The family name was also invoked during Congressional hearings that led to the passage of the
408:
Deutsch concluded that although much of the fascination with the Tribe of Ishmael has roots in American interest in
234:
notes of McCulloch's assistant, James Frank Wright. Estabrook, like McCulloch and Wright, focused his study, called
294:
49:
45:
293:, invoked the Tribe of Ishmael to caution against unchecked immigration. Laughlin gave a speech in front of the
260:
427:
335:
82:
74:
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156:,â which helped to form his belief that poverty was a hereditary matter, not simply an environmental one.
311:
463:
370:
149:
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121:
66:
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223:
627:
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introduced him to the history of the Ben Ishmael Tribe and influenced his interest in the group.
78:
757:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
744:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
684:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
671:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
658:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
645:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
632:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
573:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
560:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
517:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
501:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
488:
Inventing America's Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
403:
Inventing Americaâs Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
310:
Immigration Act of 1924. In 1933, the story of the Tribe of Ishmael was put on display at the
102:
Inventing Americaâs Worst Family: Eugenics, Islam and the Fall and Rise of the Tribe of Ishmael
447:
417:
398:
343:
105:
70:
443:
219:
153:
374:
330:
minister name Hugo Prosper Leaming radically reinvented the family's history in his essay
545:
Libraries, University, University Librarian, Rose Arny, R.R. Company, and Nicole Rafter.
439:
366:
362:
286:
163:, at the in Buffalo, New York. In this speech, McCulloch compared the family to the
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302:
187:
129:
125:
611:
264:
226:, Nams, Dacks and Wins. In order to complete these studies, field workers from the
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145:
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41:
29:
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as a warning against unfit family breeding and the face of the undeserving poor.
128:
Plymouth Church. Due to a surging population and an economic crisis known as the
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339:
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58:
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243:
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137:
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62:
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in order to learn more about the Ben Ishmael Tribe. His former mentor,
386:
382:
315:
206:, while making up three-fourths of the hospital cases in Indianapolis.
199:
33:
420:
and that some of the families identified as Ishmaelites may have been
365:- all for religious reasons. In addition, Leaming claimed that before
413:
298:
268:
203:
180:
281:
Racial Hygiene: A Practical Discussion of Eugenics and Race Culture,
768:
Knight, Michael Muhammad. "Blue-Eyed Devil". 2006. Print, pp. 72-74
409:
195:
97:
346:, perhaps even contributing memories of African Islam to the new
358:
332:
The Ben Ishmael Tribe: A Fugitive "Nation" of the Old Northwest
90:
The Ben Ishmael Tribe: A Fugitive âNation" of the Old Northwest
731:
Gone to Croatan: Origins of the North American Dropout Culture
718:
Gone to Croatan: Origins of the North American Dropout Culture
702:
Gone to Croatan: Origins of the North American Dropout Culture
759:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 99, p. 119.
712:
710:
92:. Leaming argued that the family was not simply a poor white
430:
has talked about the Ben Ishmael Tribe extensively in books
746:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, pp. 201-204.
634:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, pp. 123-130.
660:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, pp.130-131.
44:, and that its patriarch, Benjamin Ishmael, served in the
503:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, pp. 63-64.
175:
tendency... a type of degradation through parasitism, or
618:. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Pr, 2001. Print, p. 211.
549:. Northeastern University Press, 1988. Print, pp. 49-54.
686:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 155.
673:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 132.
647:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 106.
490:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 174.
575:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 34.
562:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 54.
519:. University of California Press, 2009. Print, p. 21.
438:, where he travels to Indiana and Illinois to visit
120:
In 1877, Oscar McCulloch moved to Indianapolis from
57:
The Ishmaels, known locally for abstaining from the
28:were applied to poor, Upland Southern residents of
161:
The Tribe of Ishmael: A Study in Social Degradation
263:. Known as the Indiana Plan, this law banned the
61:economy in Indianapolis, received attention from
108:, a professor of Literature and History at the
597:Arthur H. Estabrook, "The Tribe of Ishmael,"
65:advocates starting in 1877 with the Reverend
8:
610:Libraries, Association, HighWire Press, and
357:, went on pilgrimages similar to the Muslim
279:. According to Thurman Rice, who published
214:Importance to the American eugenics movement
183:, of which McCulloch had studied intensely.
588:. Greenwood Pub Group, 2005. Print, p. 216.
696:
694:
692:
361:, had matriarchal "queens," and avoided
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539:
537:
535:
533:
531:
529:
527:
525:
479:
116:The âDiscoveryâ of the Tribe of Ishmael
511:
509:
7:
729:Sakolsky, Ron, and James Koehnline.
716:Sakolsky, Ron, and James Koehnline.
700:Sakolsky, Ron, and James Koehnline.
110:University of California, Santa Cruz
301:and said that England had provided
704:. 1994-03, 1994. Print, pp. 19-22.
616:The Unfit: A History of A Bad Idea
14:
322:Reinventing the Tribe of Ishmael
275:, and other "undesirables" from
733:. 1994-03, 1994. Print, pp. 48.
720:. 1994-03, 1994. Print, pp. 53.
584:Company, R.R., and Ruth Engs.
124:to become the minister of the
1:
789:Eugenics in the United States
469:Eugenics in the United States
77:used the family to argue for
601:, VI (July-Aug. 1921), p. 7.
289:, the superintendent of the
436:Journey to the End of Islam
810:
295:Eugenics Education Society
144:and other regions of the
46:American Continental Army
794:Ethnic groups in Indiana
338:, Native American, and â
261:compulsory sterilization
784:History of Indianapolis
428:Michael Muhammad Knight
96:family, but actually a
83:Immigration Act of 1924
291:Eugenics Record Office
257:
228:Eugenics Record Office
171:with an âirresistible
586:The Eugenics Movement
464:Anti-Romani sentiment
371:Wallace Fard Muhammad
240:
150:Richard Louis Dugdale
755:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
742:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
682:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
669:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
656:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
643:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
571:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
558:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
515:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
499:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
486:Deutsch, Nathaniel.
452:Peter Lamborn Wilson
236:The Tribe of Ishmael
122:Sheboygan, Wisconsin
628:Deutsch, Nathaniel
340:poor white descent
79:sterilization laws
448:Mahomet, Illinois
418:African Americans
399:Nathaniel Deutsch
344:black nationalism
312:1933 Worldâs Fair
106:Nathaniel Deutsch
71:Charles Estabrook
50:Revolutionary War
38:Cumberland County
18:Ben Ishmael Tribe
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22:Tribe of Ishmael
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432:Blue-Eyed Devil
375:Elijah Muhammed
324:
251:, the Nams and
216:
167:, a crustacean
118:
67:Oscar McCulloch
12:
11:
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599:Eugenical News
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440:Mecca, Indiana
367:Noble Drew Ali
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287:Harry Laughlin
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75:Harry Laughlin
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249:the Kallikaks
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130:Panic of 1873
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612:Elof Carlson
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559:
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546:
516:
500:
495:
487:
482:
435:
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426:
407:
402:
401:in the book
395:
352:
350:movements.â
348:Black Muslim
331:
325:
308:
285:
280:
265:feebleminded
258:
241:
235:
232:
217:
208:
192:prostitution
185:
160:
158:
146:Upland South
119:
101:
89:
87:
56:
53:
42:Pennsylvania
30:Indianapolis
25:
21:
17:
15:
547:White Trash
202:, and even
48:during the
16:The names "
778:Categories
422:Travellers
273:alcoholics
271:, chronic
173:hereditary
126:Protestant
59:wage labor
385:, son of
379:Malcolm X
369:, Master
328:Unitarian
253:the Jukes
244:cacogenic
224:Kallikaks
220:the Jukes
177:pauperism
165:Sacculina
154:The Jukes
138:Tennessee
94:Christian
458:See also
412:and the
391:Muhammad
355:polygamy
277:marrying
196:thieving
169:parasite
142:Virginia
134:Kentucky
63:eugenics
20:," and "
387:Abraham
383:Ishmael
363:alcohol
336:African
316:Chicago
303:America
200:larceny
34:Indiana
446:, and
414:Orient
389:, via
299:London
269:insane
267:, the
204:murder
181:Orient
98:Muslim
475:Notes
410:Islam
188:gypsy
434:and
377:and
359:Hajj
73:and
405:.
314:in
297:in
104:by
780::
709:^
691:^
630:.
614:.
524:^
508:^
442:,
424:.
393:.
373:,
255:.â
222:,
198:,
194:,
140:,
136:,
112:.
85:.
40:,
32:,
52:.
26:,
24:"
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