1976 Report to the President: Mental Retardation: Past and Present

The President
The White House
Washington, D.C.

My dear Mr. President:

I have the honor to transmit to you the tenth annual report of the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.

Mental Retardation: Past and Present traces the history of America's treatment of retarded persons from the humanitarian movement of the 1850's to the present. The book documents the dark years of neglect and isolation, as well as the shining years of the Kennedy Administration when mental retardation first gained national recognition and support.

Encompassed within the broad scope of this report are the current efforts of the public and private sector concerning education, services, research, terminology, testing procedures, legal rights, economics and many other facets of the complex problem known as mental retardation.

Although this volume can stand alone as a unique reference guide to mental retardation, it also provides background and rationale for the recommendations presented in its companion volume, Report to the President, Mental Retardation: Century of Decision. Both books are part of the four-volume "Century of Decision" series published by the President's Committee on Mental Retardation in celebration of the nation's Bicentennial Year and the tenth birthday of PCMR.

Other volumes in the series are Mental Retardation: The Known and the Unknown and Mental Retardation: Trends in State Services.

As this nation starts its third century, Mr. President, we are confident that, under your leadership, citizens who are mentally retarded will have a share in that ever expanding American dream.

Faithfully yours,

Joseph A. Califano, Jr.
Chairman