By left over flower child
Every movement has its heroes, its leaders and history. The movement to empower people with disabilities is no different. The disabled community has a past rich in progressive minds and powerful visionaries. But do you know who they are? In this series I invite you to explore this question with me beginning in the 1800's when minds and perspectives began to change.
KosAbility is a community diary series posted at 5 PM ET every Sunday and Wednesday by volunteer diarists. This is a gathering place for people who are living with disabilities, who love someone with a disability, or who want to know more about the issues surrounding this topic. There are two parts to each diary. First, a volunteer diarist will offer their specific knowledge and insight about a topic they know intimately. Then, readers are invited to comment on what they've read and or ask general questions about disabilities, share something they've learned, tell bad jokes, post photos, or rage about the unfairness of their situation. Our only rule is to be kind; trolls will be spayed or neutered.
I became interested in the history of the treatment of disabled people and the history of the disability movement when I discovered my disabled sister-in-law had come through "the system" long before there were laws enacted to protect the lives and rights of people with disabilities. The research has never been anything more than a way to educate myself, a means to identify those who sought to make change and celebrate their efforts. I am a bit of a history buff and as this particular genre of history reaches into my personal life, I have a keen interest the subject matter. Bear in mind I am not an expert, I don’t even come close to expert status. And as I don’t wish to turn this into a lengthy diary bogged down in minute detail, I’m touching on key figures and significant events. This is primarily an overview, not an in-depth accounting of all historical events regarding the disabled and the history of the disability movement.
A word of caution before beginning: It is easy, very easy to become enraged at the treatment meted out to those with disabilities in times past as well as the language used to describe people with disabilities. It is only natural that modern sensibilities will take offense, only natural to feel anger and pity. Granted there are key historical figures deserving of any measured means of loathing and disgust. But overall, a number of persons acting on the science of the time did what they thought in the best interest of those with disabilities.
It is no secret people with disabilities have long endured abuse and poor treatment at the hands of society at large. Ignorance, fear and superstition were primary ingredients for ostracizing and mistreating them. Churches and a few loosely organized groups did try to give aide and lend compassion to those with disabilities. There were even some laws enacted to provide limited protection, but nothing really radical to improve the lives of the "infirm" as they were called. There are references a plenty to the time period before the late 18th century and 19th century, but I have chosen to begin this series after the Industrial Revolution began the and the dawning of the Victorian Age of Enlightenment.
At the end of the 18th century and early on in the beginning of the 19th century a number of significant events would emerge as foundations for improving the lives of people with specific disabilities: the deaf, the blind and those considered "feeble minded" or mentally retarded. Two schools for the deaf established in France and England led a young Thomas Gallaudet to Paris where he me Laurent Clerc a deaf teacher. The two later returned to America to establish the first school for deaf children in Hartford Connecticut in 1817. Their work has withstood time and is now Gallaudet University, the first college for the deaf and a principal leader in research for enhancing communication for the non hearing population.
In 1824, 15 year old Louis Braille would release to the world his alphabet for the blind. Having lost his vision due to an accident as a child, Braille grew up sightless and attended a school for the blind in France. There he learned how to read raised embossed letters, but the over all system was flawed and often given to misunderstanding. When Braille happened on a soldier’s unique system of dot and slashes meant to be used as a secret code for Napoleon’s army, he improved on the system and created the 63 letters of the Braille alphabet still in use in modern times.
For the mentally retarded, the capture and subsequent training of the wild feral boy of Saint Sernin sur Rance would cause one Samuel Howe to wonder if it were possible to train those considered slow or feeble minded. The wild feral boy never overcame the challenge of language acquisition, but a child living in society, though slow in action and thought would have an understanding of language and basic commands and therefore could be taught to be useful—So thought Howe and his idea was to proven germane and fruitful in the following years when he established the first school for the feeble minded located in Barre Massachusetts in 1850.
Howe, having successfully established the Perkins School and Workshop for the blind was called upon to try and find a means to educated the mentally retarded, enabling them to find meaningful employment as house servants or factory workers doing simple tasks. Just as he was successful with the school for the blind, his school for the feeble minded was the same. Based on his success other schools began to pop up, some schools without the same dedication to quality and careful instruction. Alarmed by this Howe remarked in a letter to a friend that he feared too many schools would result in the creation of institutions doing nothing more than profiting from tuition fees and taking advantage of the students sent to them. Sadly his words did prove to be prophetic and many students became nothing more than farm hands and house workers for those who were asked to educated them.
Noted in the 19th century—deaf and blind people were included in the US census in 1830 and in 1840 persons considered insane were also included. Unfortunately many states included black people in the census as being insane.
While there were many positive efforts to help those with disabilities, there were also many dark and sad venues created for nothing more than profiting off of the misfortune of others. In particular this time period is noted for the emergence of the "human oddities show" or as it is more commonly known the freak show. Most people know of the Elephant Man, have heard of bearded ladies and conjoined or Siamese twins...We know who and what, but we know little of how they came to be placed in shows. Some went voluntarily as being a participant in a side show was far better than living on the streets or in an institution. Others were sold by family or caretakers. One set of conjoined twins were born into slavery and sold for 30,000 dollars.
P.T.Barnum—of Barnum and Baily fame-- made his name on exploiting people with birth defects or disabilities. Great Britain outlawed the side shows in the early 1800’s, but Barnum brought his show to America where it would flourish until the 1870’s when laws were passed to stop human exploitation. The shows drew large crowds, and Barnum obliged their demands with bearded ladies, dog boys, wolf men, abnormally strong men, and what he termed as "grossly hideous beings too ugly for the delicate to look upon" and of course his many museum pieces, some real and some just plain old hoaxes. Most famous in his cast of oddities was General Tom Thumb. All of 25 inches tall, and a born showman Tom would tour with Barnum for most of his life becoming a famous and wealthy man before his death.
P.T.Barnum is one of the benefactors/villains in the world of people with disabilities. No one can argue Barnum didn’t knowingly exploit those differently born or made disabled by accidents--he did. But he did try for the most part to ensure their lives were made better, not worse. His life’s work lead him to be a wealthy man, one who gave generously to the founding of hospitals and charity groups helping those in need. It’s hard to determine if Barnum was a saint or sinner using today’s standards, I’m still not sure what I believe of him.
For the record, human oddity shows still exist. Recently the UK ran a television program showcasing various deformities and disabilities. Most reviews were very PC, others registered shock wondering how a show of Barnum caliber could be televised. Who knows? The participants were willing, almost anxious to share their stories, so where do we draw a line between exploitation and education? The same thing is happening here on a Sy/Fy channel show—Stan Lee’s Super Humans. What would have been called side show worthy years ago is now framed as being a superhuman quality. And then just because we’re Americans and we follow our bliss in our own ways, there’s a true to life freak show...You can watch it here. These folks make no apology, they live their lives on their terms, can we really argue against that?
Stay tuned, more to come next time.
Sources:
The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation,Doris Zames Fleicher
People With Disabilities (History of Issues), Dawn Laney
The Disability Movement: From Deinstitutionalization to Self-Determination, Duane F. Stroman
Diary of Laurent Clerc's Voyage From France to America in 1816
Letters and Journals of Samuel Gridly Howe
Insitution for From Imbeciles And Idiots, Barre Massachusetts
Amusement At The Abnormal
The Life of P.T Barnum
Modern Persecution, or Insane Asylums Unveiled
Feral Children, An interesting web site with lots of information about feral children.