The Dark History of Compulsory Vaccination in 1915

Book: The Crime Against the School Child by Chas. M. HigginsThis historical document, authored by the treasurer of the Anti-Vaccination League of America, serves as a passionate legal and moral manifesto against the Loyster-Tallett Law of 1915, which mandated vaccination for school attendance in New York’s major cities. The text is structured as a series of "points" and "propositions" arguing that such mandates are unconstitutional violations of personal liberty, asserting that the right to an education is inherent and unalienable and cannot be conditioned upon a medical procedure. The author characterizes compulsory vaccination as a "medical crime" and a form of "barbarism," alleging that the practice causes more fatalities among children than smallpox itself while serving the financial interests of medical "autocrats." Ultimately, the pamphlet functions as a strategic guide for parents, encouraging them to bypass the law through residence changes, private schooling, or legal challenges centered on the protection of bodily integrity against state-enforced malpractice.