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University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Illinois Society for Medical Research Records 1895-1975

© 2006 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Illinois Society for Medical Research. Records

Dates:

1895-1975

Size:

4.75 linear ft. (10 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

The Illinois Society for Medical Research was organized in 1951 by doctors, biologists, and researchers to educate the public on the benefits of medical research, particularly on the necessity of animal experimentation. The Society Records contain correspondence, research manuscripts, manuscripts concerning legislative campaigns, printed matter, and newspaper clippings on issue of interest to the Society including vivisection and animal experimentation. The collection documents the Society's educational programs and lobbying efforts, as well as the day-to-day management of the Society.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Illinois Society for Medical Research. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library

Historical Note

The Illinois Society for Medical Research was organized in 1951 by doctors, biologists, and researchers to educate the public on the benefits of medical research, particularly on the necessity of animal experimentation. The Society grew out of the earlier Illinois Society for the Protection of Medical Research which operated from 1928 to 1951.

The use of animals in medical research was introduced in Illinois by the Chicago medical schools at the start of the 20th century. In 1920, the Chicago Scientific Association was formed in co-operation with the Chicago Board of Health to ensure the proper distribution and humane treatment of impounded dogs that were used in teaching and research laboratories. Some public organizations, such as the Chicago Anti-Vivisection Society, subsequently attempted to prohibit the practice of animal experimentation. In response to such protests and to the prohibitive legislation they supported, the Illinois Society for the Protection of Medical Research was formed in 1928. A. J. Carlson was chairman, A. C. Ivy (also of the Chicago Scientific Association) was Secretary-Treasurer, Frank Billings was honorary president, and Jane Addams and Charles Gilkey were among its councilors.

The Society was instrumental in the defeat of the Illinois Courtney Bill (1929) which proposed outlawing animal experimentation of all types, as well as the Chicago Bederman Bill (1931) which would have prohibited experimentation on dogs. It also supported the passage of the Chicago Arvey Ordinance (1931) which required unclaimed dogs of the city pounds to be made available to research universities for experimental purposes. The actions of the Chicago anti-vivisection groups were a favorite subject of the press, particularly in the papers owned by William Randolph Hearst, including the Chicago Herald-Examiner. Perhaps the most prominent champion of the anti-vivisection cause was Irene Castle McLaughlin, the Chicago entertainer and socialite. Irene Castle McLaughlin's exploits in the Chicago and Illinois courts and legislatures made headlines daily and did much to make animal experimentation one of the most hotly contested issues of the 20s, 30s and early 40s. After the Second World War those opposing animal experimentation were fewer and less vocal, in part due to the efforts of the Illinois medical societies and the National Society for Medical Research, which had been formed in 1946. These groups actively publicized the many medical advances utilized in the war made possible by animal experimentation. In 1951 the Illinois Society for the Protection of Medical Research was re-organized as the Illinois Society for Medical Research. It has continued to educate the public about medical activities through its lecture series, high school essay contests, and many publications. A more detailed account of the Society's early history can be found in the ISMR Bulletin.

Scope Note

The Illinois Society for Medical Research Records contain correspondence, research manuscripts, manuscripts concerning legislative campaigns, printed matter, and newspaper clippings on issue of interest to the Society including vivisection and animal experimentation. The collection documents the Society's educational programs and lobbying efforts, as well as the day-to-day management of the Society.

The Records of the Illinois Society for Medical Research are divided into five series: Series I: Correspondence and Research Manuscripts Concerning Legislative Campaigns; Series II: Research Manuscripts; Series III: Manuscripts Concerning Legislative Campaigns; Series IV: Printed Matter ; and Series V: Newsclippings.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Correspondence and Research Manuscripts Concerning Legislative Campaigns

Box 1   Folder 1

1919

Box 1   Folder 2

1920-1927

Box 1   Folder 3

1928

Box 1   Folder 4-6

1929

Box 1   Folder 7

1930

Box 1   Folder 8-12

1931

Box 1   Folder 13-14

1932

Box 2   Folder 1

1933

Box 2   Folder 2-3

1934

Box 2   Folder 4-8

1935

Box 2   Folder 9

1936

Box 2   Folder 10

1937

Box 2   Folder 11

1938

Box 3   Folder 1

1939

Box 3   Folder 2-3

1940

Box 3   Folder 4

1941-1945

Box 3   Folder 5

1946-1948

Box 3   Folder 6-8

1949

Box 3   Folder 9

1950-1951

Box 3   Folder 10

1952-1956

Box 3   Folder 11

1957-1975

Series II: Research Materials

Box 3   Folder 12

Abstracts-Animals

  • Abstract of remarks by Arthur J. Snider
  • "American Physiological Approach to the Elucidation of Hyperparathyroidism"
  • "Animal Experimentation"
  • "Animal Experimentation and Human Heart Disease"
  • "Animal Experimentation and Medical Progress"
Box 3   Folder 13

Articles

  • "Another Article on Anti-Vivisection"
  • "Beware of the Anti-Vivisectionist"
  • "Chemistry Against Disease"
  • "The Cost of the Anti-Vivisectionist Movement to the University of Chicago"
  • "Has Anything Been Accomplished by Experiments on Dogs?"
  • "A Health Crisis"
  • "The Humane Movement in the United States"
  • "The Importance of Experimentation in the Medical and Biological Sciences"
  • "Is Animal Experimentation Cruel?"
  • "Medical Research, Health and Longevity"
  • "The Need of Animal Experimentation in Discovering and Perfecting Local Anesthetics"
Box 3   Folder 14

Proceedings of the Conference on Animal Experimentation

  • "Renewed Anti-Vivisection Threat"
  • "Science for Humanity"
  • "Science or Sadism"
  • "Susie's Story"
  • "War and the Anti-Vivisection Racket"
  • (Untitled)

Series III: Manuscripts Concerning Legislative Campaigns

Box 4   Folder 1-3

McLaughlin radio broadcasts and debates

Box 4   Folder 4

Campaign materials, Arvey Ordinance

Box 4   Folder 5-7

Campaign materials, proposed legislation

Box 4   Folder 8

Resolutions

Box 4   Folder 9

Court proceedings, legislation in cities other than Chicago

Box 4   Folder 10

"The Humane Movement," script to radio broadcast

Box 4   Folder 11

Statistics related to legislation

Box 4   Folder 12

Miscellaneous manuscripts

Series IV: Printed Matter

Box 4   Folder 13

Advisory Committee on Allocation of Dogs

Box 4   Folder 14

American

  • American College of Surgeons
  • American Human Association
  • American Journal of Public Health
Box 4   Folder 15

American-Anti

  • American Public Health Association, "Care of Laboratory Animals"
  • Anti-Compulsory Vaccination Society
Box 4   Folder 16

Camp, D. E., "Contributions of Small Animals to Human Welfare" Colliers

Box 4   Folder 17

Conference-County

  • Conference of Public Health Veterinarians
  • Corn State Needle
  • Council on Defense of Medical Research
  • County Gentleman
Box 4   Folder 18-19

Committee on Experimental Medicine

Box 5   Folder 1

Cr-Du

  • Crile, George
  • Di Cyan & Brown
  • District of Columbia
  • Doctors Talk it Over
  • Dogs
  • Dupont
Box 5   Folder 2

Edison Round Table

Box 5   Folder 3

Fe-Fi

  • Federation Proceedings
  • Food Drug Cosmetic Law Quarterly
  • The Fight Against Disease
Box 5   Folder 4

Ga-Gr

  • Gaines
  • George Washington University
  • Georgetown University
  • The Graphic
Box 5   Folder 5

Ha-He

  • Harpers
  • Harvard Medical Alumni Bulletin
  • Health Educational Journal
Box 5   Folder 6

He-Hu

  • Health, an Osteopathic Publication
  • Hospital Topics
  • Humanist
  • Hunter, Rev. R. M., "Cruelty to Animals"
Box 5   Folder 7

Hygeia

Box 5   Folder 8

Hygeia, "War and the Anti-Vivisectionist Racket"

Box 5   Folder 9

Il

  • Illini Scope
  • University of Illinois College of Medicine
  • Illinois Department of Public Health
  • Illinois Dental Journal
  • Illinois Medical Journal
  • Illinois Pesticides Control Committee, "Learning to Live with Pesticides"
Box 5   Folder 10

Il

  • Illinois Society for Medical Research
  • Illinois Society for the Protection of Medical Research
Box 5

ISMR Bulletin, complete set (7/52-4/69)

Box 6   Folder 1

Il-Jo

  • Illinois Veterinary Bulletin
  • Illinois Wildlife, "Illinois Prairie Chicken Needs Your Help"
  • Institute of Medicine of Chicago
  • Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences
Box 6   Folder 2

K-L

  • The Kiwanis Magazine
  • Laboratory Animal Management
  • Ladies Home Journal
  • Lederle
  • Life
  • Look
Box 6   Folder 3

Me-Mo

  • Merck Report
  • Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
  • Milwaukee Medical Times
  • Modern Hospital
  • Modern Medicine
Box 6   Folder 4

Ma

  • Maryland Society for Medical Research
  • Maryland Economics
Box 6   Folder 5

Na

  • National Anti-Vaccination League
  • National Anti-Vivisection Society
  • National Horseman
  • National Institute of Health
Box 6   Folder 6

NORC Poll

Box 6   Folder 7-8

National Society for Medical Research

Box 6   Folder 9

Nature Magazine

Box 6   Folder 10

Me-No

  • Medical Society for the State of New York
  • North American Veterinarian
  • Novena Notes
Box 6   Folder 11

Ne

  • Newhouse Letters
  • "New Material to Help You Overcome the Anti-Medical Cult"
Box 6   Folder 12

Ne

  • New Republic
  • New York Cancer Committee
  • New York Times Magazine
Box 6   Folder 13

Ne-Pa

  • Newsweek
  • Osteopathic Magazine
  • Parade
Box 6   Folder 14

Pa-Pe

  • Medical Society for the State of Pennsylvania
  • Pagent
  • People Today
  • Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
Box 6   Folder 15

Pe-Ph

  • Pets Today
  • Phi Beta Pi
Box 6   Folder 16

Photographs, cartoons, illustrations

Box 7   Folder 1

Po-Ps

  • Popular Science
  • Post
  • Prescriptions for Anti-Vivisection
  • President's Science Advisory Committee
  • Psychiatric Quarterly
Box 7   Folder 2

Pu

  • Public Affairs Committee
  • Public Health
  • Public Opinion Quarterly
Box 7   Folder 3

Q

  • Quarterly Review of NYCCC
  • Questionnaire on Vivisection
Box 7   Folder 4

Refutation of Anti-Vivisection propaganda

Box 7   Folder 5

Re

  • Reid H. Ray Film Industries
  • Readers' Digest
  • Research Defense Society
Box 7   Folder 6

Ro

  • Roche Review
  • Rockefeller Institute
  • "Rules Regarding Animals"
Box 7   Folder 7

Sample news releases

Box 7   Folder 8

S

  • St. Louis Medical Review
  • St. Louis Medical Society
  • Salt Lake Tribune
Box 7   Folder 9

Sa-Sc

  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • Saturday Review of Literature
  • School Science and Mathematics
Box 7   Folder 10

Sc

  • Science
  • Science and Education
Box 7   Folder 11

Sc

  • Science Illustrated
  • Science News Letter
  • Science Review (Metropolitan Detroit)
Box 7   Folder 12

Sc-Su

  • Scientific American
  • Scientific Monthly
  • Surgery
Box 7   Folder 13

Si-Sm

  • Silent Spring
  • Smith, Kline and French Labs
Box 7   Folder 14

So-Su

  • Society of Friends of Medical Progress
  • Surgery
Box 7   Folder 15

Th

  • Thalidomide
  • This Day
  • This Week
Box 7   Folder 16

Time

Box 7   Folder 17

To-Tr

  • Today's Health
  • Academy of Medicine of Toledo
  • True
Box 7   Folder 18

U

  • U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare
  • U.S. Army Medical Department
  • Universities Federation for Animal Welfare
Box 8   Folder 1

U-V

  • Upjohn News
  • Vanderbilt Medical Center
  • Vanderbilt University
Box 8   Folder 2

V

  • Veterinary Bulletin
  • Veterinary Medicine
  • Veterinary Scope
Box 8   Folder 3

Wi-Wo

  • Wisconsin State Board of Health
  • Wisconsin State Medical Society
  • Wisconsin Journal of Education
  • Women's Home Companion
  • World Health Organization
Box 8   Folder 4-9

Dutch journals concerning vivisection, including De Tribune

Box 8   Folder 10

Miscellaneous printed matter

Series V: Newsclippings

Box 8   Folder 11-12

1895-1897

Box 8   Folder 13

1898-1927

Box 8   Folder 14

1928

Box 8   Folder 15

1929

Box 9   Folder 1

1930

Box 9   Folder 2-5

1931

Box 9   Folder 6

1932

Box 9   Folder 7-9

1933

Box 9   Folder 10-15

1934

Box 10   Folder 1-4

1935

Box 10   Folder 5

1936-1937

Box 10   Folder 6

1938

Box 10   Folder 7

1939-1941