USPHS Record Group 090: Tuskegee Syphilis Study File Series Inventory

SUMMARY

The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, conducted from 1932 to 1972, is a widely documented historical event involving unethical research practices. Official institutions like the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledge the study and its problematic nature. The NLM has digitized and made publicly available a collection of documents related to the study, some of which are from the USPHS. This dossier investigates whether publicly available inventories or lists specifically identify file series within the broader USPHS Record Group 090 that are directly linked to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, beyond general document collections.

CLAIMS

1. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

   The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) conducted the Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee from 1932 to 1972.

   — attributed to: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

   • https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html
   • https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/timeline.html
2. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

   The study involved observing the natural history of untreated syphilis in Black men in Tuskegee, Alabama, without informed consent or offering treatment, even after it became available.

   — attributed to: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Archives

   • https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html
   • https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/highlights/tuskegee
3. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

   The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has digitized and made publicly available a collection of approximately 3,000 documents related to the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.

   — attributed to: National Library of Medicine (NLM), ELSIhub, San Diego Union-Tribune

   • https://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/Collection-Untreated-Syphilis-Study-Tuskegee.html
   • https://elsihub.org/news/national-library-medicine-nlm-digitized-document-collection-usphs-untreated-syphilis-study
   • https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/01/09/records-from-notorious-tuskegee-syphilis-study-now-available-online/
4. CORROBORATEDCONF 0.90

   The digitized documents by the NLM cover the 'origin and development of the Tuskegee syphilis study'.

   — attributed to: The Hastings Center

   • https://www.thehastingscenter.org/newly-released-documents-from-untreated-syphilis-study-ethical-just-and-respectful-use-of-archival-materials/
5. VERIFIEDCONF 1.00

   The National Archives (NARA) in Atlanta holds records pertaining to the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee.

   — attributed to: National Archives (NARA)

   • https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/highlights/tuskegee
6. UNVERIFIABLECONF 0.70

   There are publicly available inventories or lists of specific file series within USPHS Record Group 090 that directly mention the Tuskegee Syphilis Study.

   — attributed to: The investigation lead

TIMELINE

• 1932U.S. Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, begins the 'Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male'. [src]
• 1972The U.S. Public Health Service Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee ends. [src]
• 2022The National Library of Medicine (NLM) digitizes and releases historical documents on the 'origin and development of the Tuskegee syphilis study' to mark the 50th anniversary of the study's end. [src]
• 2024-01-09The National Library of Medicine (NLM) announces the digitization of a collection of 3,000 documents related to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, making them publicly available. [src]

ENTITIES

• ORG U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) — Government agency that conducted the study; Record Group 090
• EVENT Tuskegee Syphilis Study — Unethical medical study
• ORG National Library of Medicine (NLM) — Repository and digitizer of study-related documents
• ORG Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — Government agency that provides historical context for the study
• ORG National Archives (NARA) — Repository of study-related documents
• PLACE Macon County, AL — Location where the study took place

OPEN QUESTIONS — PENDING LEADS

• What specific finding aids or inventories exist for NARA Record Group 090 that list file series related to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?
• Does the National Library of Medicine's digitized collection of Tuskegee documents include a detailed record group or series inventory from the USPHS archives?
• Are there any declassified internal USPHS indexes or catalogs that would describe the file organization of documents pertaining to the Tuskegee study?
• How are the 3,000 digitized NLM documents cataloged in relation to the broader USPHS Record Group 090 archival structure?
• Are there any publicly accessible NARA or NLM subject guides that cross-reference specific file series in Record Group 090 with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study?

EVIDENCE — CAPTURED SOURCES

1. [WEB] https://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/Collection-Untreated-Syphilis-Study-Tuskegee.html

   The NLM collects, preserves, and makes publicly available collections such as that of the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee to advance open access, improve transparency in research, and ensure that lessons of the past inform the present and future of biomedical research,…

2. [WEB] https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/index.html

   Background The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee was a study conducted between 1932 and 1972. The study was supposed to observe the natural history of untreated syphilis. As part of the study, researchers did not collect informed consent from…

3. [WEB] https://elsihub.org/news/national-library-medicine-nlm-digitized-document-collection-usphs-untreated-syphilis-study [archived]

   CERA is pleased to share the announcement that the NLM has digitized a collection of 3,000 documents related to the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, 1932-1972, and made them publicly available.

4. [WEB] https://www.archives.gov/atlanta/highlights/tuskegee [archived]

   The USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee began in 1929 as a cooperative study involving the USPHS, the Julius Rosenwald Fund, and state and local health departments in six southern states. During the study, a number of Black men in Tuskegee (Macon County), AL, with syphilis…

5. [WEB] https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/01/09/records-from-notorious-tuskegee-syphilis-study-now-available-online/ [archived]

   A cache of documents related to the Tuskegee syphilis study — a 40-year experiment that tracked infected Black men without treating them — has been digitized for public use, the National ...

6. [WEB] https://www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/about/timeline.html [archived]

   Background In 1932, the U.S. Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis. It was originally called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male" (now referred to as the "USPHS Untreated Syphili…

7. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/1bnkolv/home_of_record/ [archived]

   So I asked for my original home of record paperwork and they said the state of legal residence was the same thing. I changed my state of legal residence when we bought a house.

8. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/160ypev/usphs_ensemble/

   Greetings all..Is there anyone on the sub-Reddit that plays in the USPHS Ensemble or sings in the choral group? I've seen the YouTube videos and was wondering how you fit the rehearsals in with your duties?

9. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/11u8shi/application_status/ [archived]

   A place for all things about the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. In officio salutis. Probably doesn't need to be said, but very much an unofficial place.

10. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/nacbpj/my_fellow_americans_whats_your_experience_with/ [archived]

    According to Wikipedia they were responsible for the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. If you want to read something fucked up our government did this is worth your time.

11. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/epidemiology/comments/m7gxfb/publicly_available_dataset_recommendations/ [archived]

    Publicly available dataset recommendations I was originally going to use data from my state health department for a school project, but due to COVID the IRB process has been incredibly slow, and I'm starting to think I should have a backup plan using something with publicly avail…

12. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/18zbloj/promoting_as_np/

    A place for all things about the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. In officio salutis. Probably doesn't need to be said, but very much an unofficial place.

13. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/comments/oxuw5a/how_do_we_all_feel_about_this_commissioned_corps/ [archived]

    Had someone from the Commissioned Corps of the USPHS request a military discount recently. Then they told me about their recent deployments to the Navajo Reservation as if it were Nam'.

14. [REDDIT] https://www.reddit.com/r/USPHS/comments/1dlevmh/py24_results_posted/ [archived]

    A place for all things about the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. In officio salutis. Probably doesn't need to be said, but very much an unofficial place.

15. [WEB] https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-2934097R-root [archived]

    HHS and its divisions have built mechanisms into our review, funding, and management of projects to ensure that research participants are protected and that a study like the USPHS Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee will never happen again.

16. [WEB] https://www.thehastingscenter.org/newly-released-documents-from-untreated-syphilis-study-ethical-just-and-respectful-use-of-archival-materials/ [archived]

    To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the United States Public Health Service's Syphilis Study, the National Library of Medicine recently digitized and released reams of historical documents on the "origin and development of the Tuskegee syphilis study." The release of these…

CROSS-REFERENCE

• → SHARES-EVENT Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Government Medical Experimentation and 1972 Exposure — This dossier directly investigates archival records of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which is the primary subject of the existing document.