Jerry Was a Man

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"Jerry Was a Man" (1947) is a short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It is about an attempt by a genetically modified chimpanzee to achieve human rights. The main theme of the story is civil liberties, in this case extended towards a group of genetically enhanced chimpanzees to allow them equal rights under the law. The story is one of the first examples of science fiction addressing questions that trouble contemporary society.

The story is collected in the book Assignment in Eternity. It was adapted for television and aired as part of the anthology series Masters of Science Fiction, on U.S. network ABC during the summer of 2007, and on other networks in the same approximate period.

The TV version has the "anthropoid workers" as manufactured devices, produced by some combination of biological growth and engineering, matured with some innate (genetically determined) abilities and trained further to perform their alloted tasks. When the "Joe" (as the anthropoids were nicknamed) wore out or its job was over (the Joe of interest to the film version was a minesweeper who would appear to have survived the sweeping of the mines), then they would be recycled.

The original work by Heinlein depicted Jerry as an aging domestic worker rather than soldier. In it, Jerry (the "Joe") demonstrates his humanity to the court by rendering the song "Swanee River" in front of the jury. There is an obvious intent by the author to link the genetically engineered worker to African-American slaves in the 1800s.