A Disability History of the United States

Content Warning: This section mentions ableism, racism, enslavement, and mental illness. The source text’s use of outdated and offensive terms is replicated only in quotations.

Discuss why stigma was not associated with disability in Indigenous communities.

Explain the ways in which European colonization in North America led to increased disability among Indigenous peoples.

Why were “refuse slaves” left extremely vulnerable within the context of the slave trade? How did economic factors play a role in the categorization of enslaved people as “refuse slaves”?