The Lies They Told Quotes

“For example, a mental asylum in Lincoln, Illinois, fed its incoming patients milk infected with tuberculosis, reasoning that genetically fit individuals would be resistant; this practice resulted in 30–40% annual death rates. Other doctors practiced eugenicide through various forms of lethal neglect.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“first began learning about eugenics while writing my debut novel, The Plum Tree, when I discovered that the United States was the first country in the world to undertake forced sterilization programs, and that the Nazi party in Germany took many of its policies, procedures, and theories from American eugenicists. (For more information, check out the discussion questions following this Author’s Note.) I also learned that the U.S. was the leader in the eugenics movement and, after WWI, held international conventions to spread the word to other countries. In the mid-1920s, many foreign eugenicists traveled to America for training and to attend meetings and conferences.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“cause learning how to struggle taught you how to make do, and doing well for yourself and others was a big part of the joy in life.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“always said she was glad to be born poor”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“goes for the care of someone with bad heredity, such as the insane, feebleminded, criminals, and others. Next to that, another sign read: UNFIT HUMAN TRAITS: Feeblemindedness, criminality, insanity, alcoholism, and many other defects run in families and are inherited in exactly the same way as color in guinea pigs. If all marriages were eugenic, we could breed out most of this unfitness in three generations.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“Some people are born to be a burden on the rest. This light flashes every 15 seconds. Every 15 seconds, $100 of your money”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told

“give me your tired, your poor” meant only those who were not really tired or poor. That if you were in need of help, if you were judged to be ignorant or ill, the gates that led to freedom were closed to you.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Lies They Told