The 40-year Tuskegee Study reveals the steadfast beliefs and little knowledge within the 20th century medical community about African American people, the nature of sex and how venereal diseases are spread. . The negative impacts of the Tuskegee Study were not limited to just the poor African American men who were used as experiment subjects, but also their partners and children. Not only was the entire health of a community put at risk by the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) by leaving a communicable disease untreated, but the massive use of deception against the unknowing study subjects illustrates how the concept of race and social Darwinism have been so influential. in public health at that time. Fortunately, treating human beings as laboratory animals is highly implausible these days. In 1929, with a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Fund, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) began conducting a study in the rural South. determine the prevalence of syphilis among the poor black population and whether mass treatment for this disease would be feasible. During its initial location survey, the USPHS discovered Macon County, Alabama, where the town of Tuskegee is located. They found that Macon County had the highest rate of syphilis among the half-dozen other counties studied. This area was also called the "Black Belt", due to its rich soil and the large number of poor black sharecroppers. Through this short study, it was concluded that mass treatment could be successfully implemented among these rural blacks. However, this came at a bad time, as the economy collapsed in 1929, and these findings were of course ignored. Fast forward three years, to 1932. The USPHS C...... middle of paper ......ideas by them were welcome. For this community to then find out that these health care providers they had trusted with their health for decades were lying and calling on them is a blow. What could have been a huge step forward in the relationship between disadvantaged Americans and the federal public health care system has become a big step backwards. Even forty years later, the Tuskegee Study continues to cast a shadow over the relationship between disadvantaged African Americans and the American public. health practice. However, the numerous reports claiming that this study is the main reason why many African Americans distrust America's public health institution are false. Although, as noted, this has had and still has a negative impact, these claims fail to see that this is a multi-dimensional issue, with other historical, political and economic factors coming into play...