Dedicated to the Health of All Children
Prologue
"We believe in the inherent worth of all children; they are
our most enduring and vulnerable legacy."
-- From the Core Values Statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics
The fifth year of the new millennium is the occasion of the 75th
anniversary of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Milestones
such as this often provide a rationale for historical reviews that
look back on an organization's past activities and accomplishments,
as well as an opportunity for looking ahead to guess what might
transpire in the future. Yet, all too often, such histories can
unduly focus on committee meetings and internal minutiae, losing
sight of the more fundamental themes and issues that have shaped
an association's vision over time.
We believe that the history of the AAP cannot be told apart from
the broader history of child health and welfare over the course
of the 300 years preceding the AAP, as well as the last 75 years.
To that end, we have tried to construct more than a review of the
internal history of the AAP. We hope that the reader will gain a
sense of how science, politics, and social reform have transformed
the health care of children and also have shaped the substance and
content of pediatric practice in the United States during the last
century. While acknowledging that many individuals and advocacy
groups have contributed to this story, we do wish to highlight the
particular contributions of AAP members and leaders on behalf of
America's children.
The editors of this commemorative volume have been afforded a chance
to review the personalities and social forces that led to the creation
of the AAP in 1930, its role in the remarkable transformation of
child health over the course of the 20th century, and its many accomplishments
on behalf of children over the last 75 years. We make no claim to
comprehensiveness, and acknowledge that, in some cases, our selection
of certain individuals, accomplishments, or milestones over others
has been difficult if not arbitrary. History must be selective if
it is to be told as a story rather than a collection of tables and
lists.
Although we believe that this volume provides an accurate historical
account, we wanted to enliven it with the personal recollections
and anecdotes of AAP members who lived these times and so are part
of the history. In early 2002, we began to solicit personal accounts
from the AAP members and we are grateful that a large number responded.
We also had access to the rich resources of the oral histories compiled
by the AAP Pediatric History Center. The anecdotes we collected
have been woven into our historical account and we believe that
they add insight, color, emotion, and sometimes humor to what might
have otherwise been a rather sterile review. In addition, the early
AAP history written by Marshall Carleton Pease, MD, in 1951 and
the semicentennial AAP history written by James G. Hughes, MD, in
1980 (see Selected Reading) were of enormous value in our efforts.
This book would have been impossible without the contributions
of many people. We are sincerely grateful for the contributions
of all of the AAP members who provided submissions for this publication
(and, regrettably, many more were received than could possibly be
included). Without the wisdom and memories of these fine people,
this book never could have been accomplished. In particular, we
would like to call out the stellar efforts of James E. Strain, MD;
David Annunziato, MD; William A. Silverman, MD; Seymour E. Wheelock,
MD; Robert Grayson, MD; and Lewis A. Barness, MD.
The valuable contributions of the AAP staff in developing this
book cannot be overstated. Jeff Mahony was crucial in coordinating
our activities and the member submissions from all around the country;
Susan Bolda Marshall, MALS; John F. Zwicky, PhD; and Chris D. Kwiat,
MALS, provided historical support; Kate Simone and Jason Crase researched
and organized the photographs that grace this volume; Holly Kaminski
helped organize all of the submissions; Jackie Noyes, MA, provided
important insights on legislative aspects of the history; and Maureen
DeRosa, MPA, and Mark Grimes provided tireless support to this project
from conception to production. Needless to say, even this lengthy
list is too short, as many members of the AAP staff (in both Elk
Grove Village, IL, and Washington, DC) can proudly say that they
participated in helpful ways to the development of this book.
Finally, we want to thank our families for their forbearance and
understanding during what has been a very time-consuming labor of
love over the past 3 years.
Jeffrey P. Baker, MD, PhD, FAAP
Howard A. Pearson, MD, FAAP
Book Excerpt
Table of Contents
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Artwork above is courtesy of our 75th
Anniversary Art Contest participants.
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