Vaccination a Curse and a Menace to Personal Liberty (PDF)

In Vaccination: A Curse and a Menace to Personal Liberty, Dr. J. M. Peebles condemns compulsory vaccination as a damaging and outdated practice, likening it to past medical errors such as excessive bloodletting and aggressive catharsis treatments, which he viewed as harmful interventions encouraged by the medical profession. Writing in the early 1900s, Peebles describes compulsory vaccination as a "dark blot" on the 19th century, claiming it "poisoned the crimson currents of the human system" under the misguided belief that it would prevent smallpox. Although he acknowledges some progress away from these practices, Peebles argues that the lingering impact of mandatory vaccination still hangs over society like a "deadly nightmare." He places blame on the medical field for championing this approach, with only a few progressive voices challenging its continuation.