SIO516: How a Botched 1840 Census "Proved" Freedom Made Black Americans Disabled, with Sari Altschuler

About this episode

The episode explores the historical intertwining of disability and citizenship in America with Professor Sari Altschuler.

The history of disability rights is often treated as a modern story, but what if that framing misses centuries of earlier, more complicated history? This week, Thomas is joined by Professor Sari Altschuler, Associate Professor of English at Northeastern University, to explore her new book Before Disability: A History of American Citizenship . In the book, Professor Altschuler traces how disability and citizenship have been intertwined since the founding of the United States, and what that reveals about who America decided belonged and who didn't. In the early Republic, many physical and mental differences were accommodated within the framework of citizenship; by the antebellum era, however, those same differences had been weaponized as tools of racial exclusion, and eventually as justification for eugenics. Thomas and Professor Altschuler dig into the intersections of race, disability, and civic belonging, and what early American history can teach us about the fights happening today. Be sure to buy Before Disability: A History of American Citizenship (release date: 6/16/2026)! Touch This Page! Making Sense of the Ways We Read Are you an expert in something and want to be on the…

People in this episode

Host: Thomas

Guest: Sari Altschuler

Topics covered

• disability rights
• American citizenship
• racial exclusion
• eugenics
• history
• intersections of race and disability

Keywords

• disability
• citizenship
• history
• race
• eugenics
• American history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Before Disability: A History of American Citizenship

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