Lecture 2 - History of Disability Flashcards
disability in 400 BC
a greek philosopher Hippocrates argued that epilepsy was due to a brain disorder, which was very progressive/bold for the time
- > this is the earliest record of disability we have record of
disability in the 15th century
the court fool was very prominent in the medieval and renaissance court society
- > some jesters were disabled either physically or mentally
disability in the 17th century
Poor Laws were passed to provide aid to the poor, orphaned, and crippled by charging a “poor rate” to owners of property
- > the poor were divided into 3 groups; the disabled poor were labelled the “helpless poor or impotent poor”
the Salem witch trials resulted in the hanging of 19 people
- > some of the 19 were either “feebleminded, of little or no education, or insane”
- > someone had to be responsible for “bewitching” those who actually had disabilities
disabilities in the 1800s
- > the Pennsylvania hospital was the first hospital to create a special section for the treatment of mental illness and mental retardation, some were chained to the wall of the basement and put of display for a fee (1751)
- > Virginia established the first hospital solely for the treatments of idiots, lunatics, and other people of unsound mind (1773)
- > Phillipe Pinel unchains the mental patients at the institution, the unchaining of the insane became known as the “moral treatment” and was replaced by straightjackets
- > he later created a 4-part classification system of major mental illness (1793)
name the hospital where patients were chained and put of display
Bethlehem Hospital; locally referred to as Bethlam or Bedlam (some say origin of work bedlam)
which institutions/school were created for those disabilities in the 19th century
- > Thomas Gallaudet established the first free American school for the deaf and hearing impaired in 1817
- Connecticut Asylum at Hartford for the Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons; later renamed American School for the Deaf
- > the Perkins school for the Blind opened in Boston by Samuel Howe in 1848; Howe later established the Massachusetts School for Idiotic Children and Youth, the first of its kind in the US
- > Hervey Wilbur opened a private school in Boston named Institution for Idiots
- > James Richards opened the Private Institute for Imbeciles in Harlem, NY
who is Dorothea Dix
a teacher and nurse who, during the American Civil War, was an advocate for the separation of the disabled incarcerated in penitentiaries and poorhouses
- > her efforts lead to the establishment of 32 state run mental institutions across the US
- > as a result of her efforts, the first Asylum for the mentally ill is built in Trenton, New Jersey
landmarks for disability in the 19th century
- > cerebral palsy was first classified by surgeon Wiliam Little, it was first named Little’s diseases but was also known and cerebral paralysis (1860)
- > John Down published the first clinical description of what is later known as down syndrome (1866)
- > Illinois passed a “Bill for the Protection of Personal Liberty” which guaranteed all people accused of insanity, including wives, the right to a public hearing prior to institutionalization (1967)
- > the wheelchair patent was registered in 1986 to accommodate amputees from the War (1869)
who is Elizabeth Packard
she published the Prisoners Hidden Life of Insane Asylums Unveiled to expose the poor conditions of insane asylums (1868)
- > she was institutionalized herself by her husband as she had outlandish ideas
Disability Discharge certificates
the US Civil war pension system was established in 1861 to address the high rate of disability resulting from the war
- > certificates were issued to union soldiers; discharging them from active duty, essentially making them “not the governments problem” anymore as they were now disabled
- > this marked the beginning of the disability benefits office
when were the first associations/society for individuals with hearing impairments created?
- > the National Association for the Deaf was created in 1880 on behalf of Robert P McGregor; Edwin booth was the chair
- > the National Fraternal Society of the Deaf was created in 1901 and advocated for the ability to buy life insurance and obtain drivers licences. It began in Flint Michigan and Peter Heller was the society’s first president
Maria Montessori
opened the first Casa dei Bambini or “house of children”
- > she developed the first successful program for the education of disabled people
explain the first eugenic sterilization laws passed in the US
1910s-1930s
- > the start of the American Eugenic movement, led by Charles Davenport and Harry Laughlin
- > in 1915s Dr. Harry Haiselden allows a disabled newborn to perish and starts to promote this as a way to reduce the disabled population
- > the film the black stork was released in 1916 and further advocated for this practice
- > in 1927, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the forced sterilization of the feeble minded (Buck v Bell)
Buck V Bell
Carrie Buck was the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell, after having been ordered to undergo compulsory sterilization for purportedly being “feeble-minded” by her foster parents after their nephew raped and impregnated her
Skinner v State of Oklahoma (1942)
was the US Supreme court ruling that held that laws permitting the compulsory sterilization of criminal are unconstitutional
- > while Skinner v Oklahoma did not specifically overturn Buck v. Bell, it created enough of a legal quandary to discourage many sterilizations
- > by 1963, sterilization laws were almost completely out of use
