Tuskegee Experiment

The Tuskegee Experiment took place from 1932 to 1972 in Tuskegee Alabama. It followed 399 black men with syphilis, and 201 black men without. (The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment-Infoplease) The men with syphilis were left untreated, and observed. Underhanded methods like telling the men spinal taps were actually "free treatment" were used to further the study's goals of understanding untreated syphilis better. The men were denied knowledge of penicillin treatments even after they became a standard treatment, and fatal cases declined. The study ended in 1972 when news articles condemned the study, and the public became more aware of what was really happening. In the mid 90's, the families of the patients finally got restitution and medical benefits as a result of a lawsuit against the United States government. (he Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment- Tuskegee, 1)