Solomon

Gianna Solomon
Ben Henderson
CAS 137H
30 October 2104
Shifts in Perspective: Disability
Disability: (n.) a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a
person's physical or mental abilities; the condition of being unable to do things in the normal
way: the condition of being disabled (Disability).
Beginning around the early 20th century, before the significant shift in perspective, people
with disabilities fell into the same category of those who were discriminated by race, ethnicity,
sexual orientation, etc. They were even looked at as feeble or inadequate. Just as it says in the
definition aforementioned, disabled persons are not able to do normal tasks, but people had,
and some still continue to have difficulty understanding that although they may not be able to
perform everyday activities, people with disabilities are still human. The poor treatment of
disabled persons can be traced back all the way to 2000 BCE and it is still prevalent in the 21st
century. However, we will take a look at the critical period of this issue, which predominantly
took place in the 1900s. Also, legislation has been made and the view of people with disabilities
has greatly changed. Over the past decade, the social inclusion of people with disabilities has
increased dramatically. There have been more foundations created to work with people who
suffer from such ailments, and many groups have been formed to support this issue.
Dating back to the early 1900s, the societal attitude towards those with disabilities was
mostly that they were genetically defective, inferior, and that they were polluting the race
(Perspective on the Historical Treatment). It was not understood that even if someone was
incapable of performing everyday tasks, or if they had a strange body configuration, they were
still people. Social Darwinists had the worst attitudes of all. They were afraid that the
degeneration of the American race was due to the medical care that the weak were receiving
which began to destroy the already natural struggle for existence, and that these misfits were

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multiplying faster than the normal people (Perspective on the Historical Treatment). During this
time period, it was popular for many of those with disabilities to be institutionalized, sterilized,
or exterminated, and by 1916, 29 states had passed compulsory sterilization laws that were
directed mostly at people with genetic illnesses or conditions (Perspective on the Historical
Treatment).
Harry Laughlin, a predominant American eugenicist, created one of the sterilization laws
that had the following parameters: the sterilization of the following defective classes:
1) feebleminded; 2) insane (including the psychopathic); 3) criminalistic (including the
delinquent and wayward); 4) epileptic; 5) inebriate (including drug habitus); 6) diseased
(including the tubercular, the syphilitic, the leprous, and others with chronic, infectious,
and legally segregable diseases); 7) blind (including those with seriously impaired
vision); 8) deaf (including those with seriously impaired hearing); 9) deformed (including
the crippled); and 10) dependent (including orphans, neer-do-wells, the homeless,
tramps, and paupers). (Perspective on the Historical Treatment).
This movement gained increasing support and the discrimination of disabled people became
more prevalent, which sparked the start of the political spectrum. William Churchill, an
ethnologist, favored the confinement, segregation, and sterilization of such feeble-minded
people and the Mental Deficiency Act deemed people with learning disabilities (there was no
distinction between people with disabilities) idiots and moral defectives which lead to more
people being incarcerated (A Disability History Timeline).
However, in the middle of the 20th century, perspective began to change for the better.
The attitudes towards people with disabilities went from inferior degenerates, to people who
were unfortunate objects of charity that deserved pity (Perspective on the Historical Treatment).
The disabled were still institutionalized. However, rehabilitation started becoming a factor. In
1940, the American Federation of the Physically Handicapped, founded by Paul Strachan,

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became the first cross-disability political organization that advocated an end to job
discrimination and lobbied for the passage of legislation (Perspective on the Historical
Treatment). Employment became the first step in this movement towards equality for people
with disabilities and they were slowly integrated into society. In 1944, the Disabled Persons
(Employment) Act was enacted, which required employers with about 20 or more employees to
have at least 3% of their workforce be people with disabilities (A Disability History Timeline).
There were many other policies created that prohibited the discrimination of disabled people, that
integrated those with ailments into society, and there was even an international year named after
such people.
So what caused this shift in perspective? Research shows that the change in views of
disabled people correlates with the end of war periods. After the end of the first World War, over
1.5 million people lost limbs, were blinded, deafened, or suffered severe mental trauma (A
Disability History Timeline). At the end of the Second World War, a little over six hundred
thousand people fit into that category (By the Numbers). Most of these people were sent to an
institution where awareness of these impairment issues really heightened. Because war veterans
were so well respected, people were not quick to demean them because of these newly obtained
disabilities. In fact, people actually became enlightened to the fact that things like this could
happen to anyone, and that a disability does not determine someones character.
The war also had a lot of impact on the working class, most of whom were now
disabled, and with the rise of the war economy came a labor shortage. To help compensate for
this, the government came up with a scheme where they trained and employed disabled people
and out of the 185,000 people that were previously deemed unemployable, 90% were put to
work (A Disability History Timeline). Legislation for disabled people was now put into effect
and soon those same people were receiving benefits for their work, and this is when the

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aforementioned Disabled Persons (Employment) Act was enacted (A Disability History

Timeline). This time period also saw an increase in technology to help aid people suffering from
such impairments; for example, the first collapsing wheelchair was created, the hearing aid was
being developed, and more care centers were being created to aid people who were recently
disabled from the war (A Disability History Timeline). This increase in technology led to a better
understanding of people with disabilities and how they can be helped in order to effectively
integrate them into everyday society. Another major milestone was the first ever Paralympics,
which was held in Rome, Italy in 1960 (A Disability History Timeline). From that point on,
deinstitutionalization took place and mental hospitals were reduced by hundreds of thousands.
Schools were also beginning to incorporate those with disabilities into their programs, with
scholarships for such people becoming popular. The barriers between normal and disabled
people were increasingly lifted and people were beginning to understand that people with
disabilities are as human as anyone else.
In todays society the attitudes towards people with disabilities has changed drastically.
This particular group of people is no longer looked at as feeble, defective, or pitiful; they are
viewed as independent and self-determined people who are now an integrated part of society.
Many laws have been enacted to ensure the civil rights and independent living of those with
disability. There have been numerous campaigns set in place such as spread the word to end the
word (referring to the term retard), the rise of Deaf Culture became prevalent, and one of the
largest improvements to society, The Americans with Disabilities Act, came into effect. This civil
rights act prohibited discrimination, and guaranteed that these people would have the same
opportunities as everyone else; it specified that they would be able to enjoy employment
opportunities, purchase goods and services, and participate in state and local government
programs and services (Introduction to the ADA). Other acts similar to this one were set in

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place, which outlawed direct or indirect discrimination and harassment in employment, and
events such as the Paralympics and the Special Olympics became more popular. The two world
wars were an extremely important pivotal point in time for the race towards equality for people
with disabilities, a race that has come a long way will it only continue to rise.

Works Cited
"By the Numbers: The US Military." The National WWII Museum. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.
"Disability." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
"A Disability History Timeline: The Struggle for Equal Rights Through the Ages." Ed. Loren
Grant. NHS North West, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.
"Introduction to the ADA." ADA: Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
Perspective on the Historical Treatment of People with Disabilities. Teaching for Diversity and
Social Justice. 2nd ed. Adams, M., Bell, L. A., Griffin, P. New York: Routledge. 2007.
Print.