Vicious Habits

Sexually Transmitted Infections among Black and White Union Army Veterans

Bibliographic Data

ID8251703
AuthorsStanley E Wilson (0000-0003-3536-6996, corresponding author), Sven E Wilson, Christopher Roudiez (0000-0001-6310-5422), Heather DeSomer (3 National Bureau of Economic Research), Coralee Lewis (3 National Bureau of Economic Research), Noelle Yetter (3 National Bureau of Economic Research)
Year2019
Volume1
Issue1-2
Pages53-67
Publication date2019-12-12
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Applied History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2589-5885 • E-ISSN: 2589-5893
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/25895893-00101003
PMID33123681
OpenAlexW2996919699
LanguageEN
Citations received1

We analyze a random sample of 15,049 white veterans and 5,329 black veterans of the US Civil War examined by physicians between 1890 and 1906. We calculate a period prevalence of STI of 1.2–1.7 % among whites and 4.2–8.0 % among blacks, even though blacks and whites had almost identical prevalence of STI s in their wartime medical records. Furthermore, we find evidence that Board physicians were on the lookout for STI s among black veterans that could be used to justify denial of pension support. With or without STI s, blacks were rejected at roughly twice the rate of whites during this time period. Currently, racial disparities are even higher today than in this historical period, with blacks currently having a 5–15 times higher incidence than whites. We invite a critical reflection upon practices of screening and measurement systems to assess properly the degree to which racial prejudice may be part of these systems

Denial · Incidence (geometry · Political science · Prejudice (legal term · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · White (mutation · Health and Conflict Studies · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · Medicine · Psychology · Demography · Law · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access