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History of Disabilities: Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century provides historical evidence demonstrating how society has interacted with and regarded individuals considered to have disabilities. Disability is a definition imposed by society on people who may or may not agree to being characterized that way. It should also be noted that not all disabilities are visible. According to the World Health Organization, disability is part of being human. Almost everyone will temporarily or permanently experience disability at some point in their life. Disability results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition, such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or depression, with personal and environmental factors including negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social support.

Disabilities in Society, Seventeenth to Twentieth Century presents monographs (books), manuscripts, and ephemera that provide a historical view of disabilities from the seventeenth to twentieth century. The archive provides many avenues to approach disability history. It demonstrates how persons with disabilities have worked for equal rights through activism and advocacy. Some materials include personal memoirs of experiences with disabilities or the accounts of those who treated them. Rehabilitation, treatments, methods of education, and other forms of remediation are documented. Reports and proceedings of organizations and institutions that sought to help or heal those with disabilities are available for review. Policies and programs concerning persons with disabilities are also available (i.e. labor laws, legal rights, rehabilitation programs, etc.). Researchers can examine disability as a form of institutional discrimination and social exclusion as well as an empowered movement. Documentation shows how people deemed to be disabled were classified and treated, while some materials show how people have overcome physical or mental challenges in their lives and challenged perceptions of what it means to be disabled.

This archive provides access to primary sources created by groups and individuals that were products of their time. Therefore, users may come across content that is upsetting such as outmoded language, cartoons and caricatures, and other imagery that may be offensive because of its representation of race, gender, sexuality, beliefs, or other characteristics.

The nature and value of the Gale Primary Sources archives is that they present artifacts as they existed, without manipulation by Gale. We develop content with the guidance of scholars, subject matter specialists, and the academic community. Studying the historical context of a topic, including the potential prejudices or biases imposed by society or authors, allows students and researchers to engage in critical conversations, make important comparisons and connections, and enable greater understanding to inspire change and cross-cultural awareness.

The History of Disabilities program provides access to primary sources written using terminology that was in common use by the medical establishment and general society at the time, and describes diagnoses, methodologies, procedures, and treatments that may no longer be used or were debunked by later research. Users may come across words and expressions describing individuals and groups that they find condescending, upsetting, disconcerting, offensive, and not acceptable today. These primary sources depict the beliefs and perspectives of previous eras, sometimes including negative stereotypes of disabled persons, women, minorities, and ethnic groups, or insulting and offensive language that was once commonplace. These materials are provided for academic research and teaching purposes, and Gale does not endorse any specific views contained within the content.