Present conditions of mentally retarded persons in institutions are in large part the legacy of those scholars and practitioners who worked at the close of the previous century. A review of the literature for the period 1874-1900 indicates that early professionals recognized a large group of defective persons in society known as idiots; that these idiots were susceptible to improvement through training and education; that society had an obligation to provide for and protect this defective group; and that they viewed prevention as a major goal. The negative outcomes of sequestration, sterilization, indentured work, and the denial of civil and constitutional rights also developed as consequences of the activities of these early activists in mental retardation.
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