Disability

Abstract

The word disability originated as a legal, rather than a medical, term where it was used to limit individuals' access to rights. These linguistic roots have cast a long shadow over the legal and political lives of disabled people. Nevertheless, the word disability originally described more situational and malleable states than fixed conditions, and it was not until the antebellum era that disability began to be associated more commonly with bodily and mental conditions. When writing about disability history, scholars should keep in mind the shifting nature of the term disability and evolving understandings of the concept of disability during the period as well as the identity preferences and self-understanding of the groups whose histories they study. Cultural and epistemological humility as well as openness to change and correction remain essential.