People With Disabilities During The Progressive Era

Though the treatment of people with disabilities was far form ideal during the early American period, it declined even further during the “progressive” era. The community aspect of caring for each other seems to have been completely lost, and attempts to find a place for individuals incapable of performing traditional labor diminished. Rapid industrialization continued to cause more and more disabilities, and the quality of life of those affected by them became even worse than before. Disabilities during this time were viewed as undesirable defects, and those who had them were ostracized and looked down upon. This era gave birth to the notion of eugenics, which claimed that a “perfect” society could hypothetically be achieved trough breeding out undesirable traits that did not align with their notion of the ideal citizen. …show more content…
This led to the forced sterilization of sixty-five thousand Americans by the 1960s, which specifically targeted anyone with any kind of disability. Sterilization laws were implemented in over thirty states. The most blatant example of discrimination towards those with disabilities was the immigration act of 1882, which excluded any person who could have been considered morally, physically, or intellectually “defective.” It also excluded anyone who could have eventually become a public charge, meaning someone who was unable to care for themselves and would rely on public care. The educational aspects of institutions was practically lost, and they focused primarily on containing those with disabilities and removing them from the public eye. Similar to both the colonial and early American periods, disabled veterans were typically treated better than