View source for Benjamin Spock

{{short description|American pediatrician, political activist, and writer (1903–1998)}}
{{Redirect|Dr. Spock|the Star Trek character|Spock}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox scientist
| birth_name        = Benjamin McLane Spock
| image             = Benjamin McLane Spock (1976) 02.jpg
| caption           = Spock in 1976
| birth_date        = May 2, 1903
| birth_place       = [[New Haven, Connecticut]], U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|1998|3|15|1903|5|2}}
| death_place       = [[San Diego|San Diego, California]], U.S.
| field             = [[Pediatrics]], [[psychoanalysis]]
| work_institution  = [[Mayo Clinic]] 1947–1951<br>[[University of Pittsburgh]] 1951–1955<br>[[Case Western Reserve University]] 1955–1967
| education         = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Columbia University]] ([[Doctor of Medicine|MD]])
| prizes            = [[E. Mead Johnson Award]] <small>(1948)</small>
| signature         = Benjamin Spock signature.svg
| spouse            = {{Unbulleted list|
* {{Marriage|Jane Cheney|1927|1976|end=div}}
* {{Marriage|Mary Morgan|1976}}
}}
| children          = 2
| relatives         = [[Marjorie Spock]] (sister)
}}

'''Benjamin McLane Spock''' (May 2, 1903&ndash;March 15, 1998), widely known as '''Dr. Spock''', was an American [[Pediatrics|pediatrician]]<ref name=":1" />, Olympian athlete and [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] political activist.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Downes|first=Lawrence|date=March 22, 1998|title=Word for Word / Dr. Spock; Time to Change the Baby Advice: Evolution of a Child-Care Icon|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/22/weekinreview/word-for-word-dr-spock-time-change-baby-advice-evolution-child-care-icon.html|access-date=November 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> His book ''[[The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care|Baby and Child Care]]'' (1946) is one of the best-selling books of the 20th century, selling 500,000 copies in the six months after its initial publication and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998.<ref>Thomas Maier, ''Dr. Spock: An American Life'' (New York: Basic Books, 2003), 462.</ref> The book's premise told mothers, "You know more than you think you do."<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14534094|title=Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care at 65|author=Hidalgo, Louise|date=August 23, 2011|work=[[BBC News]]|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> Dr. Spock was widely regarded as a trusted source for parenting advice in his generation.<ref name="g088">{{cite web | last=McNair | first=Kamaron | title='Neither of us feel interested': More Americans don't want kids, and it's not just because of the money | website=CNBC | date=August 16, 2024 | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/16/why-more-americans-dont-want-kids.html?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=instagram%7Cmain | access-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref>

Spock was the first pediatrician to study [[psychoanalysis]] in an effort to understand children's needs and family dynamics. His ideas influenced several generations of parents, encouraging them to be more flexible and affectionate with their children and to treat them as individuals. However, his theories were widely criticized by colleagues for relying heavily on anecdotal evidence rather than serious academic research.<ref>Maier, 260.</ref>

After undergoing a self-described "conversion to [[socialism]]," Spock became an activist in the [[New Left]] and [[anti-Vietnam War]] movements during the 1960s and early 1970s, culminating in his run for [[President of the United States]] as the [[People's Party (United States, 1971)|People's Party]] nominee in [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]]. He campaigned on a [[maximum wage]], legalized [[abortion]], and withdrawing troops from all foreign countries. His books were criticized by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservatives]] for propagating permissiveness and an expectation of [[deferred gratification|instant gratification]], a charge that Spock denied.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pace|first=Eric|date=March 17, 1998|title=Benjamin Spock, World's Pediatrician, Dies at 94|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/17/us/benjamin-spock-world-s-pediatrician-dies-at-94.html|access-date=November 19, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Biography==

=== Early life and education ===
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{{Medal|Sport|Men's [[Rowing (sport)|rowing]]}}
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{{Medal|Gold|[[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 Paris]] |[[Rowing at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's eight|Eight]]}}
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Benjamin McLane Spock was born May 2, 1903, in [[New Haven, Connecticut]]. His parents were Benjamin Ives Spock, Yale graduate and long-time general counsel of the [[New Haven Railroad]], and Mildred Louise (Stoughton) Spock.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Barnes |first=Bart |date=2024-01-08 |title=Pediatrician Benjamin Spock Dies |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/03/17/pediatrician-benjamin-spock-dies/f0e306b9-3a07-4e72-b237-5fd755b716b3/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |work=Washington Post |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The family name had Dutch origins; they originally spelled it ''Spaak'' before migrating to the former colony of [[New Netherland]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Benjamin Spock -New Netherland Institute |url=http://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/benjamin-spock/|publisher=New Netherland Institute|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> Spock was one of six children, including his younger sister, environmentalist writer [[Marjorie Spock]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Postel|first=Sandra|author-link=Sandra Postel|date=2020|title=Marjorie Spock: An Unsung Hero in the Fight Against DDT and in the Rise of the Modern Environmental Movement|url=https://www.pfeiffercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Spock_DDT_NCHS_Journal.pdf|journal=The Nassau County Historical Society Journal|location=[[Nassau County, New York]]|publisher=Nassau County Historical Society|volume=75|pages=2}}</ref>

Spock attended [[Hamden Hall Country Day School]], and went on to attend his father's alma maters [[Phillips Andover Academy]] and [[Yale University]]. He studied [[literature]] and [[history]] at Yale; the lanky 6' 4" Spock was also active in [[college rowing]]. Eventually, he joined the [[Rowing at the Summer Olympics|Olympic rowing crew]] (Men's Eights) that won a gold medal at the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924 games in Paris]].<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/40880 |title=Benjamin Spock |work=Olympedia |access-date=30 October 2021}}</ref> At Yale, he was inducted into the Eta chapter of the [[Zeta Psi]] fraternity and the senior society [[Scroll and Key]]. He attended the [[Yale School of Medicine]] for two years before shifting to [[Columbia University]]'s [[Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons|College of Physicians and Surgeons]], from which he graduated first in his class in 1929.<ref>[https://drspock.com/ Biography of Spock at drspock.com]</ref> By that time, he had married Jane Cheney.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1998/06/14/public-vs-private-dr-spock-mr-hyde/43beeb6e-dda2-44a4-a622-6a59bf580179/|author=Kochakian, Mary Jo|title=Public vs. Private: Dr. Spock, Mr. Hyde|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 14, 1998}}</ref>

=== Personal life ===
Jane Cheney and Spock were married in 1927. Jane assisted Spock in the research and writing of ''Dr. Spock's Baby & Child Care'', published in 1946 by Duell, Sloan & Pearce as ''The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care.'' The book has sold more than 50 million copies in 42 languages.<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|author=Pace, Eric|title=Benjamin Spock, World's Pediatrician, Dies at 94|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0502.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 17, 1998}}</ref><ref name=CNN>{{cite news|title=Dr. Spock's baby book will endure|url=http://www.cnn.com/books/news/9803/16/spock.books/index.html|agency=[[CNN]]|date=March 16, 1998|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref>

Jane Cheney Spock was a civil liberties advocate and mother of two sons. She was born in [[Manchester, Connecticut]], and attended [[Bryn Mawr College]]. She was active in [[Americans for Democratic Action]], the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) and the [[National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy]]. The Spocks divorced in 1976.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/spock-classic.html|author=Klemesrud, Judy|title=The Spocks: Bittersweet Recognition in a Revised Classic|work=The New York Times|date=March 19, 1976}}</ref> Cheney went on to organize and run support groups for older divorced women.<ref>{{cite news|title=Jane C. Spock, 82; Worked on Baby Book|date=June 14, 1989|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|page=D25}}</ref>

In 1976, Spock married Mary Morgan.<ref name=":0">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/05/17/specials/spock-88.html|author=Lawson, Carol|title=At 88, an Undiminished Dr. Spock|work=The New York Times|date=March 5, 1992}}</ref> They built a home on Beaver Lake in Arkansas where Spock would row daily.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dr. Spock: He's newborn at 75|date=February 18, 1979|page=I1}}</ref> Mary quickly adapted to Spock's life of travel and political activism, and was arrested with him many times for civil disobedience. Once they were arrested in Washington, D.C. for praying on the White House lawn. Morgan was strip-searched; Spock was not. Morgan sued the jail and the mayor of Washington, D.C. for sex discrimination. The ACLU took the case and won.

For most of his life, Spock wore [[Brooks Brothers]] suits and shirts with detachable collars, but at 75, for the first time in his life, Mary got him to try blue jeans. She joined him in meditation twice a day and introduced him to [[Transactional analysis]] (TA) therapists, massage, yoga and a [[macrobiotic diet]] which reportedly improved his health. "She gave me back my youth," Spock was quoted as saying. He adapted to her lifestyle, as she did to his. There were 40 years difference in their ages, but Spock would tell reporters they were both 16.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} Mary scheduled speaking dates and handled legal agreements for the 5th through 9th editions of ''Baby and Child Care''. She continues to publish the book with co-author Robert Needlman.

For many years, Spock lived aboard his sailboat, the ''Carapace,'' in the [[British Virgin Islands]] off [[Tortola]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Mary Morgan: Spock's wife also caretaker|work=Daily Breeze (Torrance, CA)|date=29 April 1990}}</ref> At 84, Spock won third place in a rowing contest, crossing four miles (6.4&nbsp;km) of the Sir Francis Drake Channel between Tortola and [[Norman Island]] in 2.5 hours.<ref>{{cite journal|title=BENJAMIN McLANE SPOCK (1903-1998) - den kontroversielle rebellen|journal=Tidsskrift for Norsk Barnelegeforening|year=2016|volume=34|issue=1|pages=26–28}}</ref> He credited his strength and good health to his lifestyle and his love for life.<ref name=nyt/> Spock had a second sailboat, named ''Turtle'', in Maine on which he lived and sailed in the summer. The Spocks lived exclusively on boats for most of 20 years.

By 1991, Spock was unable to walk without assistance and was reported as infirm shortly before his death.<ref name=NYT062898/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/28/us/dr-spock-old-and-infirm-needs-money-wife-says.html|title=Dr. Spock, Old and Infirm, Needs Money, Wife Says|first=Doreen|last=Carvajal|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 28, 1998|accessdate=May 5, 2021}}</ref> At the very end of Spock's life, he was advised to come ashore by his physician, Steve Pauker, of New England Medical Center, Boston. In 1992, Spock received the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award at the [[John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum|John F. Kennedy Presidential Library]] for his lifelong commitment to disarmament and peaceable child-rearing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peaceabbey.org/2015/05/recipients-of-the-courage-of-conscience-award/|title=Recipients of the Courage of Conscience Award {{!}} The Peace Abbey FoundationThe Peace Abbey Foundation|website=www.peaceabbey.org|date=2 May 2015 |access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=At the Dangerous Edge of Social Justice: Race, Violence and Death in America|author=Fensch, Thomas|publisher=New Century Books|year=2014|isbn=978-0983229667|pages=254}}</ref>

Spock had two sons.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Spock died at a house he was renting in [[La Jolla, California]], on March 15, 1998. His ashes were buried in [[Rockport, Maine]], where he spent his summers.{{citation needed|date = September 2023}}

==Books==
In 1946, Spock published ''[[The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care]]'', which became a best-seller. Its message to parents is "You know more than you think you do."<ref name=bbc/> By 1998, it had sold more than 50 million copies, and had been translated into 42 languages.<ref name=nyt/><ref name=CNN/> According to the ''New York Times'', ''Baby and Child Care'' was, throughout its first 52 years, the second-best-selling book, next to the [[Bible]].<ref name=NYT062898>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/20/us/final-advice-from-dr-spock-eat-only-all-your-vegetables.html|first=Jane E.|last=Brody|title= Final Advice From Dr. Spock: Eat Only All Your Vegetables|work=The New York Times|date=June 20, 1998|access-date=August 14, 2022}}</ref> According to [[List of best-selling books|other sources]], it was among best-sellers, albeit not second-best-selling.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

Spock advocated ideas about parenting that were considered out of the mainstream. Over time, his books helped to bring about major change. Previously, experts (such as [[Truby King]]) had told parents babies needed to learn to sleep on a regular schedule, and that picking them up and holding them when they cried would only teach them to cry more and not to sleep through the night (a notion that borrows from [[behaviorism]]). They were told{{citation needed|date=June 2011}} to feed their children on a regular schedule, and that they should not pick them up, kiss them, or hug them, because that would not prepare them to be strong, independent individuals in a harsh world. In contrast, Spock encouraged parents to show affection for their children and to see them as individuals.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gunderman, Richard B.|date=2019|title=A Portrait of Pediatric Leadership: Dr. Benjamin Spock|journal=Journal of Pediatric Radiology|volume=49|issue=9|pages=1130-1131|doi=10.1007/s00247-019-04446-w|hdl=1805/22065|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

By the late 1960s, however, Spock's opposition to the Vietnam War had damaged his reputation. The 1968 edition of ''Baby and Child Care'' sold half as many copies of the prior edition.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} Later in life, Spock wrote ''Dr. Spock on Vietnam'' and co-wrote an autobiography entitled ''Spock on Spock'' (with wife Mary Morgan Spock), in which he stated his attitude toward aging: ''Delay and Deny''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Spock|first=Benjamin|date=1989 |title=Spock on Spock |url= |location=New York |publisher=Pantheon Books |page=254 |isbn=0394578139}}</ref>

In the seventh edition of ''Baby and Child Care'' published shortly after he died, Spock advocated for a bold change in children's diets, recommending children switch to a [[Veganism|vegan]] diet after age 2.<ref name=NYT063098>Jane E. Brody, ''PERSONAL HEALTH; Feeding Children off the Spock Menu'', ''The New York Times'', June 30, 1998. p. F7.</ref> Spock himself had switched to an all-plant diet in 1991 after a series of illnesses that left him weak and unable to walk unaided. After making the dietary change, he lost 50 pounds, regained his ability to walk and became healthier overall. The revised edition stated children on an all-plant diet will reduce their risk of developing heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain diet-related cancers.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Dunham, Laurie|author2=Kollar, Linda M.|date=January 2006|title=Vegetarian Eating for Children and Adolescents|journal=Journal of Pediatric Health Care|volume=20|issue=1|pages=27–34|doi=10.1016/j.pedhc.2005.08.012|pmid=16399477|issn=0891-5245}}</ref> However, Spock's recommendations were criticized as being irresponsible towards children's health and children's ability to sustain normal growth, which has been aided with minerals such as calcium, riboflavin, vitamin D, iron, zinc and at times protein.<ref name=NYT062898/>

Spock's approach to childhood nutrition was criticized by a number of experts, including co-author Boston pediatrician Steven J. Parker,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/06/25/dr-spocks-irresponsible-legacy/|author=Beck, Joan|title=Dr. Spock's Irresponsible Legacy|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=June 25, 1998}}</ref> as too extreme and likely to result in nutritional deficiencies unless it was carefully planned and executed, which would be difficult for working parents.<ref name=NYT062898/> T. Berry Brazelton, Boston City Hospital pediatrician who specialized in child behavior (and longtime admirer and friend of Dr. Spock), called the dietary recommendations "absolutely insane."<ref name=NYT062898/> Neal Barnard, president of Physicians for Responsible Medicine, a Washington organization advocating strict vegetarian diets, acknowledged he drafted the nutrition section in the 1998 edition of ''Baby and Child Care,'' but said Spock edited it to give it "his personal touch."<ref name=NYT062898/> It was acknowledged that in Spock's final years, he had strokes, bouts with pneumonia and a heart attack.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-17-mn-31991-story.html|title=Baby Doctor for the Millions Dies|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 17, 1998|accessdate=May 5, 2021}}</ref>

==Views==

===Sudden infant death syndrome===
Spock advocated that infants should not sleep on their backs, commenting in his 1958 edition that "if [an infant] vomits, he's more likely to choke on the vomitus." This advice was extremely influential on healthcare providers, with nearly unanimous support through the 1990s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Ruth Gilbert|author2=Georgia Salanti|author3=Melissa Harden|author4=Sarah See|year=2005|title=Infant sleeping position and the sudden infant death syndrome: systematic review of observational studies and historical review of recommendations from 1940 to 2002|journal=International Journal of Epidemiology|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|volume=34|issue=4|pages=874–87|doi=10.1093/ije/dyi088|pmid=15843394|citeseerx=10.1.1.488.3870}}</ref> Later empirical studies, however, found a significantly increased risk of [[sudden infant death syndrome]] (SIDS) associated with infants sleeping on their abdomens. Advocates of [[evidence-based medicine]] have used this as an example of the importance of basing healthcare recommendations on statistical evidence. One researcher estimated that as many as 50,000 infant deaths in Europe, Australia, and the U.S. could have been prevented had this advice been changed by 1970 when such evidence became available.<ref>[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]. "Health Report", September 11, 2006. Radio program. [https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/facing-the-evidence---part-one/3345712 Transcript]</ref>

===Male circumcision===
In the 1940s, Spock favored [[male circumcision|circumcision of males]] performed within a few days of birth. However, in the 1976 revision of ''Baby and Child Care'' he concurred with a 1971 [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] task force that there was no medical reason to recommend routine circumcision, and in a 1989 article for ''[[Redbook]]'' he stated that "circumcision of males is traumatic, painful, and of questionable value."<ref>{{citation|publisher=[[Canadian Children's Rights Council]]|title=Circumcision - It's Not Necessary|work=[[Redbook]]|date=April 1989|author=Spock, Benjamin}}</ref> He received the first Human Rights Award from the International Symposium on Circumcision (ISC) in 1991 and was quoted as saying, "My own preference, if I had the good fortune to have another son, would be to leave his little penis alone."<ref>{{cite journal|author=Milos, Marilyn Fayre|author2=Donna Macris|date=March–April 1992|title=Circumcision: A medical or a human rights issue?|journal=Journal of Nurse-Midwifery|volume=37|issue=2 S1|pages=S87–S96|pmid=1573462|doi=10.1016/0091-2182(92)90012-R|url=http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/milos-macris/|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Social and political activism==
In 1962, Spock joined [[Peace Action|The Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, otherwise known as SANE]]. Spock was politically outspoken and active in the movement to end the [[Vietnam War]]. In 1968, he and four others (including [[William Sloane Coffin]], [[Marcus Raskin]], [[Mitchell Goodman]], and [[Michael Ferber]]) were singled out for prosecution by then Attorney General [[Ramsey Clark]] on charges of conspiracy to counsel, aid, and abet resistance to the draft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ecojustice.net/Coffin/Index.htm|title=Once to Every Man and Nation|author=The William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Project Committee|access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> Spock and three of his alleged co-conspirators were convicted, although the five had never been in the same room together. His two-year prison sentence was never served; the case was appealed, and in 1969 a federal court set aside his conviction.<ref>See [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/416/165/401712/ ''United States v. Spock'', 416 F.2d 165 (1st Cir. 1969)].</ref>

In 1967, Spock was pressed to run as [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s vice-presidential running mate at the [[National Conference for New Politics]] over Labor Day weekend in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/376595695|date=August 27, 1967|title='New Politics' Convention to Open Here|author=Manly, Chesly|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}}</ref> In April of that year, Spock helped lead the largest anti-war protest to date, the [[National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam|Spring Mobilization Against the War]]. Spock wore a suit and held a sign that read "Children are not born to burn."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perlstein |first=Rick |url=http://archive.org/details/nixonlandriseofp0000perl |title=Nixonland : the rise of a president and the fracturing of America |date=2008 |publisher=New York : Scribner |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7432-4302-5 |pages=182}}</ref>

In 1968, Spock signed the "[[Writers and Editors War Tax Protest]]" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War,<ref>"Writers and Editors War Tax Protest". ''New York Post''. January 30, 1968.</ref> and he later became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated [[tax resistance]] as a form of anti-war protest.<ref>"A Call to War Tax Resistance" ''The Cycle'' May 14, 1970, p.&nbsp;7.</ref> He was also arrested for his involvement in anti-war protests resulting from his signing of the anti-war manifesto "A Call to Resist Illegitimate Authority" circulated by members of the radical intellectual collective [[RESIST (non-profit)|RESIST]].<ref>Barsky, Robert F. Noam Chomsky: a life of dissent. 1st ed. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 1998. Web. {{cite web|url=http://cognet.mit.edu/library/books/chomsky/chomsky/4/5.html|title=Marching with the Armies of the Night|access-date=June 24, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116133359/http://cognet.mit.edu/library/books/chomsky/chomsky/4/5.html|archive-date=January 16, 2013}}></ref> The individuals arrested during this incident came to be known as the Boston Five.<ref>Kutik, William M,. "[https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1968/1/8/boston-grand-jury-indicts-five-for/ Boston Grand Jury Indicts Five For Working Against Draft Law]". ''Harvard Crimson''. January 8, 1968.</ref>

In 1968, the [[American Humanist Association]] named Spock [[Humanist of the Year]].<ref name=AHA>{{cite web|title=Humanists of the Year|url=https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/humanist-of-the-year-awards/|work=American Humanist Association|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> On 15 October 1969, Spock was a featured speaker at the [[Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam]] march.<ref>Karnow, Stanley ''Vietnam: A History'', New York: Viking Press, 1983 p.&nbsp;599.</ref>

In 1970, Dr. Benjamin Spock was active in The New Party serving as Honorary co-chairman with Gore Vidal. In the [[1972 United States presidential election]], Spock was the [[People's Party (United States, 1970s)|People's Party]] candidate with a platform that called for free medical care; the repeal of "[[Victimless crime (political philosophy)|victimless crime]]" laws, including the legalization of [[abortion]], [[homosexuality]], and [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]]; a [[guaranteed minimum income]] for families; and for an end to American [[Interventionism (politics)|military interventionism]] and the immediate withdrawal of all American troops from foreign countries.<ref>{{cite news|title=8 Unusual Presidential Candidates|url=https://www.history.com/news/8-unusual-presidential-candidates|publisher=History Channel|date=March 22, 2016|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref> In the 1970s and 1980s, Spock demonstrated and gave lectures against nuclear weapons and cuts in social welfare programs.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

In 1972, Spock, [[Julius Hobson]] (his vice presidential candidate), [[Linda Jenness]] (Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate), and Socialist Workers Party vice presidential candidate [[Andrew Pulley]] wrote to Major General Bert A. David, commanding officer of Fort Dix, asking for permission to distribute campaign literature and to hold an election-related campaign meeting. On the basis of Fort Dix regulations 210-26 and 210–27, General David refused the request. Spock, Hobson, Jenness, Pulley, and others then filed a case that ultimately made its way to the United States Supreme Court (424 U.S. 828—''Greer, Commander, Fort Dix Military Reservation, et al., v. Spock et al.''), which ruled against the [[plaintiff]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/424/828/|title=Greer v. Spock 424 U.S. 828 (1976)|website=[[Justia]]|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref>

Spock was the People's Party and the [[Peace and Freedom Party]] nominee in 1976 for vice president as the running mate of [[Margaret Wright (American politician)|Margaret Wright]].<ref>"Radical Launches Bid", AP report in ''Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune'', August 7, 1976, p. 1</ref>

===Conservative backlash===
Preacher [[Norman Vincent Peale]] supported the [[Vietnam War]] and, in the late 1960s, criticized the [[Opposition to the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War|anti-war movement]] and the perceived laxity of that era, blaming Dr. Spock's books: "The U.S. was paying the price of two generations that followed the Dr. Spock baby plan of instant gratification of needs."<ref>{{cite book|title=LIFE 100 People Who Changed the World|year=2016|publisher=Time Inc. Books|isbn=9781618934710}}</ref>

In the 1960s and 1970s, Spock was also blamed for the disorderliness of young people, many of whose parents had been devotees of ''Baby and Child Care''.<ref name=nyt/> Vice President [[Spiro Agnew]] also blamed Spock for "permissiveness".<ref name=nyt/><ref>[http://www.thomasmaierbooks.com/2008/07/permissiveness-not-dr-spock-says-widow.html Permissiveness? Not Dr. Spock, Says Widow, Rejecting Label from Nixon's VP, Spiro Agnew. Spock So-So On Spanking, But He Wasn't a Crook!] Thomas Maire author of ''Dr. Spock An American Life'' July 16, 2008.</ref> These allegations were enthusiastically embraced by conservative adults, who viewed the rebellious youth of that era with disapproval, referring to them as "the Spock generation".<ref name=NewYorkTimesbio/><ref name=NewsHour>{{cite episode|title=Remembering Dr. Spock|series=The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer|series-link=The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer|network=[[PBS]]|airdate=March 16, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TTQ_AAAAIBAJ&pg=3694,268355|title=Spock Generation Not all bad|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=Windsor Star|date=October 7, 1968|via=[[Google News]]}}</ref>

Spock's supporters countered that these criticisms betrayed an ignorance of what Spock had actually written, and/or a political bias against Spock's left-wing political activities. Spock himself, in his autobiography, said he had never advocated permissiveness; also, the attacks and claims that he had ruined American youth only arose after his public opposition to the Vietnam War. He regarded these claims as [[ad hominem]] attacks, whose political motivation and nature were clear.<ref name=NewYorkTimesbio>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|title=Dr. Spock, At 80, Still Giving Advice|author=Reed, Roy|date=May 2, 1983|page=A12}}</ref><ref name=NewsHour/>

Spock addressed these accusations in the first chapter of his 1994 book, ''Rebuilding American Family Values: A Better World for Our Children.''
{{blockquote|The Permissive Label: A couple weeks after my indictment [for "conspiracy to counsel, aid and abet resistance to the military draft"], I was accused by Reverend Norman Vincent Peale, a well-known clergyman and author who supported the Vietnam War, of corrupting an entire generation. In a sermon widely reported in the press, Reverend Peale blamed ''me'' for all the lack of patriotism, lack of responsibility, and lack of discipline of the young people who opposed the war. All these failings, he said, were due to my having told their parents to give them "instant gratification" as babies. I was showered with blame in dozens of editorials and columns from primarily conservative newspapers all over the country heartily agreeing with Peale's assertions.

Many parents have since stopped me on the street or in airports to thank me for helping them to raise fine children, and they've often added, "I don't see any instant gratification in ''Baby and Child Care''". I say they're right—I've always advised parents to give their children firm, clear leadership and to ask for cooperation and politeness in return. On the other hand, I've also received letters from conservative mothers saying, in effect, "Thank God I've never used your horrible book. That's why my children take baths, wear clean clothes and get good grades."

Since I received the first accusation 22 years after ''Baby and Child Care'' was originally published—and since those who write about how harmful my book is invariably assure me they've never used it—I think it's clear that the hostility is to my politics rather than my pediatric advice. And though I've been denying the accusation for 25 years, one of the first questions I get from many reporters and interviewers is, "Dr. Spock, are you still permissive?" You can't catch up with a false accusation.
}}

In June 1992, Spock told Associated Press journalist [[David Beard (journalist)|David Beard]]<ref name=invapav/> there was a link between pediatrics and political activism: {{blockquote|People have said, "You've turned your back on pediatrics." I said, "No. It took me until I was in my 60s to realize that politics was a part of pediatrics."<ref name=invapav>{{cite news|date=June 7, 1992|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-07-mn-171-story.html|author=Beard, David|title=Dr. Spock Still Active, Writing New Baby Book|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Second Wind: Navigating the Passage to a Slower, Deeper, and More Connected Life|author=William H. Thomas|page=[https://archive.org/details/secondwindnaviga0000thom/page/21 21]|publisher=Simon & Schuster|date=March 11, 2014|isbn=9781451667578|url=https://archive.org/details/secondwindnaviga0000thom/page/21}}</ref>}}

Conservatives also criticized Spock for being interested in the ideas of [[Sigmund Freud]] and [[John Dewey]] and his efforts to integrate their philosophies into the general population.<ref name=nyt/> Spock wrote: {{blockquote|John Dewey and Freud said that kids don't have to be disciplined into adulthood but can direct themselves toward adulthood by following their own will.<ref name=nyt/>}}

==Olympic success==
Spock was part of the all-Yale [[Rowing at the 1924 Summer Olympics – Men's eight|Men's eight]] rowing team at the [[1924 Summer Olympics]], captained by [[James Stillman Rockefeller|James Rockefeller]] (later president of what would become [[Citigroup]]). Competing on the [[Seine]], the team won the [[gold medal]].<ref name=SR>{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1924/ROW/mens-coxed-eights.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418130649/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1924/ROW/mens-coxed-eights.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2020|title=Rowing at the 1924 Paris Summer Games: Men's Coxed Eights|work=Sports Reference|access-date=October 24, 2019}}</ref>

==Books by Benjamin Spock==
* ''[[The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care|Baby and Child Care]]'' (1946, with revisions up to tenth edition, 2018)
* ''A Baby's First Year'' (1954)
* ''Feeding Your Baby and Child'' (1955)
* ''Dr. Spock Talks With Mothers'' (1961)
* ''Problems of Parents'' (1962)
* ''Caring for Your Disabled Child'' (1965)
* ''Dr. Spock on Vietnam'' (1968)
* ''Decent and Indecent'' (1970)
* ''A Teenager's Guide to Life and Love'' (1970)
* ''Raising Children in a Difficult Time'' (1974)
* ''Spock on Parenting'' (1988)
* ''Spock on Spock: a Memoir of Growing Up With the Century'' (1989)
* ''A Better World for Our Children'' (1994)<ref name=nyt/>
* ''Dr. Spock's the School Years: The Emotional and Social Development of Children 01 Edition'' (2001)

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* [[List of peace activists]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Bloom, Lynn Z. ''Doctor Spock: Biography of a Conservative Radical''. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Indianapolis: 1972.
* Maier, Thomas. ''Doctor Spock: An American Life''. Harcourt Brace, New York: 1998.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060706204809/https://www.mises.org/journals/lf/1972/1972_12.pdf Interview] in ''[[The Libertarian Forum]]'' 4, no. 12 (December 1972; mislabelled no. 10).&nbsp; ''The Libertarian Forum'' is largely favorable to Spock's views as being pro-libertarian.

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|819280}}
* [https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/s/spock_b.htm Benjamin Spock Papers] at [[Syracuse University]]
* [http://www.mansionbooks.com/BookDetail.php?bk=272 Photos] of the 1st edition of ''The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050110172314/http://www3.niu.edu/~td0raf1/history468/feb2602.htm Details surrounding the 1968 case]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080227102850/http://www.yale.edu/rowing/media/Spock.jpg Photographic portrait] taken in old age
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=openmind_ep1330|description="The Open Mind - American Values and the College Generation (1974)"}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080911014039/http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/videodir/pacificaviet/spock.ram Audio: Benjamin Spock speech at UC Berkeley Vietnam Teach-In], 1965 (in [[RealAudio]] and via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center)
* {{find a Grave|2565}}

{{Parenting}}
{{anti-war}}
{{Gandhi Peace Award laureates}}
{{United States presidential election, 1972}}
{{United States presidential election, 1976}}
{{Olympic champions – Men's eight}}
{{Authority control}}

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