A Disability History of the United States (ReVisioning American History)
Individuals with physical, psychological, sensory, and cognitive disabilities occupy center stage in this unique perspective on American history. Nielsen, professor of history and mother of a disabled daughter, gives us a scholarly yet stirring narrative of our nation’s uneasy relations—part pity and empathy, part discrimination and social stigmatization—with disabled people. Prior to 1492, most indigenous North Americans had no word for disability. European settlement of the continent injected disability via the diseases the colonists brought as well as the conflicts, displacement, and environmental changes they wrought. Some large cities implemented ugly laws, prohibiting maimed or deformed people from appearing in public places. For a time, disabled individuals were subject to restrictive immigration policies, institutionalization, and even forced sterilization. WWII saw a surge in the employment of disabled people. The rise of activism and empowerment culminated in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. There is still much to do if all disabled persons are to achieve pride and place and live a good life in the U.S. --Tony Miksanek