Disability Servitude: From Peonage to Poverty

201 Pages·2016·1.883 MB·English

by  Ruthie-Marie Beckwith (auth.)

Ruthie-Marie Beckwith
DISABILITY
SERVITUDE
From Peonage to Poverty
DISABILITY SERVITUDE
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DISABILITY SERVITUDE
FROM PEONAGE TO POVERTY
Ruthie-Marie Beckwith
Palgrave
macmillan
DISABILITY SERVITUDE
Copyright © Ruthie-Marie Beckwith 2016
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2016 978-1-137-54030-0
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication
may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication
may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In
accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by
the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London
EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
First published 2016 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author
of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke,
Hampshire, RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One
New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004-1562.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
ISBN 978-1-349-71215-1
E-PDF ISBN: 978–1–137–54031–7
DOI: 10.1057/9781137540317
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beckwith, Ruthie-Marie.
Disability servitude : from peonage to poverty / Ruthie-Marie Beckwith.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. People with disabilities—Employment. 2. Peonage. I. Title.
HD7255.B43 2016
331.5(cid:2)9—dc23 2015029988
A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library.
This book is dedicated to Mark G. Friedman—fellow traveler
and spouse extraordinaire.
“I have always thought that all men should be free;
but if any should be slaves it should be first those who desire it for
themselves,
and secondly those who desire it for others.” 1
1 The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln edited by Roy P. Basler, Volume VIII, “Speech
to One Hundred Fortieth Indiana Regiment” (March 17, 1865), p. 361.
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations i x
Foreword xi
Preface x v
Acknowledgments x xi
1 Introduction 1
2 Institutionalized Peonage and Involuntary Servitude 5
3 Fighting Forest Fires: The Lost Heritage of Competence and
Contribution 29
4 The Peonage Cases 43
5 The Aftermath 55
6 The Peculiar Institution of Subminimum Wage 79
7 Institutional Peonage and Involuntary Servitude in Segregated
“Employment” Settings 113
8 Perpetuation of Peonage and Poverty in the
Twenty-first Century 141
9 Conclusions: Stone Buildings and Stone Walls 1 49
Notes 1 55
References 1 61
Index 1 79
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Photos
1.1 A nti-peonage policy enforced, Pennhurst State School,
Pennsylvania 2
2.1 L ead shoes worn while working on the hospital farm,
Vermont State Hospital, Vermont 1 6
3.1 Patient-made dresses, Clarinda State Hospital,
Clarinda, Iowa 3 2
5.1 Residents rolling silverware in Rose Building Work
Activity Center, Faribault State Hospital, Minnesota 6 6
Figures
F.1 ICF/IID expenditures per person 1977 to 2012 xiii
2.1 Industrial classification of mental defectives 1 4
6.1 Percentage of subminimum wage to minimum wage paid
by wage year 1 04
7.1 Number of individuals employed by fiscal year and type of
labor certificate 1 18
Tables
3.1 MR 69 Toward Progress: The Story of a Decade civil service
employment status 35
3.2 Jobs recommended by NARC for individuals with
intellectual disabilities 3 7
4.1 Legal cases pertaining to individuals with disabilities and
involuntary servitude, and institutional peonage, and the
Amendments to Fair Labor Standards Act of 1966 47
5.1 Changes in the numbers of resident workers in public
institutions for individuals with mental illness and
intellectual disabilities as of January 27, 1975 6 0