Skip to main content

The timeline can be navigated with the “Scroll Left” and “Scroll Right” buttons or by dragging the pointer to a date on the timeline waveform (located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile). To filter by a particular topic and see a smaller section of the data, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. Hover over the abbreviated filter tags in the blue boxes to see the complete name of the filter, or click a filter to display all the data with this tag. If you want to take a deeper dive into a specific topic by viewing a narrative essay page and a curated timeline, click on “Stories.”

Read More

Nebraska sterilization law passed.

1915

The Story of Disability Justice
LLP
STER
EUG
PIC
DCRJ

The Nebraska Legislature passes legislation aimed at the lawful sterilization of individuals deemed to be "mentally unfit." The legislation specifies who can be a candidate for sterilization (inmates of state institutions for the "feebleminded" and of penitentiaries), and the conditions under which sterilizations can take place.

Further legislation will be introduced in 1925 to expand and elaborate on the sterilization procedures. In 1929, this legislation will be repealed and new legislation will be introduced. The new legislation will add provisions so that those convicted of certain crimes (rape or incest) can also be sterilized. As a result of this legislation, a total of 902 individuals, 53% of whom are women, will be sterilized in Nebraska. The overwhelming majority of those sterilized are deemed to be "mentally deficient."