A Disability History of the United States

By: Kim E. Nielsen

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

The first book to cover the entirety of disability history, from pre-1492 to the present.

Disability is not just the story of someone we love or the story of whom we may become; rather it is undoubtedly the story of our nation. Covering the entirety of US history from pre-1492 to the present, A Disability History of the United States is the first audiobook to place the experiences of people with disabilities at the center of the American narrative. In many ways, it’s a familiar telling. In other ways, however, it is a radical repositioning of US history. By doing so, the book casts new light on familiar stories, such as slavery and immigration, while breaking ground about the ties between nativism and oralism in the late 19th century and the role of ableism in the development of democracy.

A Disability History of the United States pulls from primary-source documents and social histories to retell American history through the eyes, words, and impressions of the people who lived it. As historian and disability scholar Nielsen argues, to understand disability history isn’t to narrowly focus on a series of individual triumphs but rather to examine mass movements and pivotal daily events through the lens of varied experiences. Throughout the book, Nielsen deftly illustrates how concepts of disability have deeply shaped the American experience - from deciding who was allowed to immigrate to establishing labor laws and justifying slavery and gender discrimination. Included are absorbing - at times horrific - narratives of blinded slaves being thrown overboard and women being involuntarily sterilized, as well as triumphant accounts of disabled miners organizing strikes and disability rights activists picketing Washington.

Engrossing and profound, A Disability History of the United States fundamentally reinterprets how we view our nation’s past: from a stifling master narrative to a shared history that encompasses us all.

©2012 Kim E. Nielsen (P)2018 Beacon Press

Critic reviews

“By displacing the able-bodied, self-subsisting individual citizen as the basic unit (and implied beneficiary) of the American experience, she compels the reader to reconsider how we understand personal dignity, public life, and the common good.” (Inside Higher Ed.)

"A scholarly yet stirring narrative of our nation’s uneasy relations - part pity and empathy, part discrimination and social stigmatization - with disabled people.” (Booklist)

“Nielsen excavates the long-buried history of physical difference in Amer­ica and shows how disability has been a significant factor in the formation of democratic values…The range of this book is marvelous.” (The Wilson Quarterly)

A valuable history textbook

I tend to prefer more concept or narrative, driven books, and while this text contains elements of both, it is primarily a history textbook. It contains an element of that dry name and date-based style that turns a lot of people off of history early in their education. It’s a good book, it just wasn’t what I was looking for precisely at the time.

Good read!

Excellent read and good history review. Enjoyed personal and caring description of each person in the story, The history of how they treatment

Good overview

Having never read an overview of the history of disability in the U.S., I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. However, knowing that this book was only 241 pages, I could have surmised it would be a somewhat cursory account. And indeed, it was. But I don’t think that’s a damning description. Rather, the author provides enough detail, including naming some key resources, to engender interest and encourage a deeper dive into one or more of the areas she touches on in this volume. Her main areas of focus are Indigenous populations, the colonial periods (1492-1700 & 1700-1776), early United States 1776-1865, 1865-1890, the Progressive Era 1890-1927, 1927-1968, and 1986 to date of publication (2012). Her coverage of Indigenous attitudes was informed by Native experts, but was sketchy nonetheless, probably due to a dearth of original source material. Throughout, much of what she reported was via anecdotes about persons with disabilities, real or perceived. As she noted, which people were considered disabled varied by time period, and included a wide variety of populations we might not consider as such nowadays: women generally and at times those desiring higher education (!), drunkards, prostitutes, all slaves (or later, Blacks generally), masturbators, criminals, the chronically poor, non-heterosexuals, and many more. At various times, many individuals with physical or other disabilities who were employed were not treated as disabled, and many persons with physical and mental impairments escaped public notice due to class distinctions, i.e., individual or family wealth insulated them from external judgement or ill treatment. Given the incorporation of so many people into the category of those considered disabled, the author touches on an extraordinary span of society: union members, servicemen and veterans, victims of manufacturing mishaps, the deaf & blind, societal misfits, single mothers (moral turpitude), people from disfavored races, the mentally ill, those born with birth defects, short people, etc. Discrimination was rampant, and was socially accepted if often governmentally condoned or mandated. Nielsen spends some time on the sordid but once widespread business of eugenics that resulted in the forced sterilization of thousands. She notes how American practices of attempting to eliminate undesirable people from the nation’s gene pool were admired by others overseas, included Germany prior to and during WWII. (Yes, Nazis looked to the U.S. for inspiration when they started euthanizing children with disabilities.) In my opinion, the book lacks a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the nation’s sometimes despicable treatment of persons with disabilities, or even time period analyses, especially given how attitudes changed over the decades. With the surfeit of available information about postwar disability advocacy, her coverage of the modern era was especially lacking. All of that said, I repeat that this overview is a good place to start for anyone interested in learning about the history of disability in the U.S. It should whet the appetite of readers and identify many areas for greater investigation.

Incredibly interesting and well told

Very interesting chronicle of our nation’s history relating to persons with disabilities. I highly recommend this book.

A Story Needed to be Told

I was not a fan of the narrator's voice but I found the book to be full of valuable information. The evolution of how disability has been defined and how that changed the way people with disabilities have been treated was enlightening.

There is more work to be done to ensure that all people with disabilities are treated as full human beings deserving of equal access and rights.

Incredible Spirit

Somewhat vague, if you’re seeking cold, hard facts that are necessarily part of mainstream history.

However, this texts speaks to the truth about American history and the spirit providing impetus for our civil rights.

It is a fast and inspiring read

Vital reading for teaching or learning intersectionality

The author effortlessly weaves in and out of various areas of the minority experience tethering it to the experience of disability to illustrate intersectionality in a way that makes this vital reading.

Wide swath of US Disability History

The author pieces together well many pieces of individual experiences and landmark decisions of those with disabilities. Though difficult to cover such a vast topic, it was shared in an interesting and thorough way.

Previously Unknown Stories

This excellent book tells stories I’ve never heard regarding the struggles of others with disabilities in our American past.
From 1970 to date, I participated in some of the protest events and legislative activities mentioned. My knowledge of events before that time was limited. It is definitely a “must-read” for those experiencing disabilities and those in the field serving them.

A must read for any intersectional activist.

An excellent summary of the history of disability in the US, with strong ties to racism, sexism, and discrimination against the lower class, veterans, and LGBTQIA+.