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Disability History through Primary Sources

A photo of a group of six men sitting around a table. A large device takes up most of the table space. It is a box that opens up and has a record player inside as well as speakers fo amplify sound. The men sit in chairs and face the device. While some of the man wear glasses, all of their eyes are closed. The men lean towards the device to listen, leaning on their hands and resting their elbows on the table.
Blind young men listen to a recorded book from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Library of Congress.

Portal for Disability History through Primary Sources

    NEW: Hidden Voices: Americans with Disabilities in United States History - Free curriculum from the New York City Public Schools. (Note: large digital files.) 

    Disability Social History Project - offers a wide range of resources and links that create an opportunity for disabled people to reclaim disability history and determine how to define ourselves and our struggles.

     

    Overview on Disability History Primary Sources and Curriculum

    Integrating the history of people with disabilities into the curriculum benefits all students. Disability history is increasingly recognized as vital to a full understanding of U.S. history. Students engage when they recognize their experiences. See a one-minute video clip, "Why focus on History of People with Disabilities?" and read Why Teach Disability History?  

    Primary sources from the Library of CongressDisability History Museum, and other collections provide entry points and deepen exploration into historical events. Primary sources add immediacy such as the emotional tone of a drawing or song, or the complexity of a handwritten document. Sources from multiple points of view can illuminate conflicting ideas and events. Varied media, including maps, oral histories, published reports, and graphs present options for connection and investigation. See the Library of Congress research Guide for Middle and High School Students or view Guided video tips for finding primary sources and building primary source sets.

    For support in understanding of the scope and flow of Disability History, see Disability History Timelines. Find lists of disability history curricula below. 

    It is essential to address disrespectful terms related to disability in primary sources. See the Teaching Resource: Time Out – Spotlight Offensive Language in Primary Sources. Also see the Know and Support Students page.    

    Crossover Themes of Disability History

    State history standards and textbooks across the U.S. commonly emphasize a similar structure of topics in history. Even in states that do not yet explicitly list Disability History, the following themes offer places where teachers can integrate key moments and concepts of Disability History. (See a list of states that do include or require disability history in state legislation.)

    • Homes and Almshouses (Pre-History-1900) – Life in Colonial America - The Early Republic
    • Founding of Schools and Asylums (1820-1860) – Antebellum Reform Movements
    • Disabled Civil War Veterans (1861-1900) – Impacts of the Civil War - Growth of the Federal Government
    • Consequences of the Industrial Revolution and Immigration (1880-1940) - Impact of Social Darwinism and Eugenics 
    • Rehabilitation of WWI Veterans and Social Security (1917-1932) – Progressive Era - Impacts of WWI - New Deal - Responsibilities of Private Sector vs Government
    • Civil Rights including Disability Rights (1945-1990) – Cold War Era Social Movements
    • Passage of the Individuals with Disabilities with Education Act (IDEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (1977-1990) – Contemporary Challenges

     

    Disability History Curriculum

    Logo for Reform to Equal Rights: K-12 Disability History Curriclum

    Reform to Equal Rights: K-12 Disability History Curriculum - from Emerging America - 23 lessons in 7 units using 250 primary sources. Offers a coherent arc from K-12 and from 1800-2024. 

     

     

    Logo for Disability Equality Education shows a rainbow flowing into a smiling person's brain. Also reads: Eradicating disability stigma in education

    Disability Equality in Education - portal to dozens of disability-related lesson plans K-12 from Pennsylvania-based DEE, with links to a wealth of other lessons, videos and other resources from organizations across the U.S. 


     

     

    Logo shows spirals as the head and wheeled bottom of a person

    Disability Social History Project - offers a wide range of resources and links that create an opportunity for disabled people to reclaim disability history and determine how to define ourselves and our struggles.

     

     

    Poster shows Judy Heumann and snippets of her life

    Hidden Voices: Americans with Disabilities in United States History - Free curriculum from the New York City Public Schools features biographies given extensive context. (Note: large digital files.) 

     

     

     

    Logo for Choices program and selection of political buttons from disability history from the Smithsonian

    Resource Guide: Disability History and Studies - from the Choices Program at Brown University. Portal to educational resources to incorporate ideas and methods of disability studies into history and social studies, and to keep accessibility and anti-ableism in mind in any subject.

     

     

     

    Primary Source Collections on Disability History

    Explore–including a brief overview of the topic–in this Disability History primary source set from Emerging America.

    Disability History Museum

    • Logo of the Disability History Museum
      The wholly online Disability History Museum offers hundreds of primary sources, background essays, and other resources. The museum examines the people, lives, and institutions of disability from the founding of the nation to today. Looking across disabilities and ages, the site aims to help all users deepen understanding of variation and difference in national and community life.

     

    Library of Congress

     

    Further Disability History Collections

     

    Further Disability History Educational Resources

    • Renegades - Short videos on the lives and cultural contributions of little-known historical figures with disabilities - PBS American Masters.

     

    Selected Books and Articles on Disability History

     

    Painting of Lydia X. Z. Brown with t-shirt that says Disabled and Proud
    Reform to Equal Rights Disability History
    Comprehensive 23 inquiry-based lessons in 7 mini-units with 250 primary sources. 
    Field hospital with 6 beds, soldiers in casts, slings, and in beds.
    Example Lessons on Disability History

    A collection of two dozen teacher-written lessons with a range of disability history topics, written with accessibility in mind for their specific settings.

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