Disability Policy and Politics

This historical case study of the League of the Physically Handicapped, a disability-rights activist group in Depression-era New York City, examines some of the ways in which people with disabilities have contested and endeavored to alter the public policies and social values that have affected their social identities and social careers. It also explores the interconnections among policies, values, and disabled and nondisabled identities. In addition, it suggests that there may have been an implicit disability-based political tradition.