Table Of Content

The Mark of Slavery Disability Histories Series editors: Kim E. Nielsen and Michael Rembis Disability Histories explores the lived experiences of individuals and groups from a broad range of societies, cultures, time periods, and geographic locations who either identified as disabled or were considered by the dominant culture to be disabled. Conceiving of disability and disabled experiences broadly, and spanning a range of embodiments, the series highlights innovative approaches to disability history that deepen our understanding of the past. A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book. Jenifer L. Barclay The Mark of Slavery disability, race, and gender in antebellum america © 2021 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Barclay, Jenifer L., author. Title: The mark of slavery: disability, race, and gender in antebellum America / Jenifer L. Barclay. Other titles: Disability, race, and gender in antebellum America Description: Urbana: University of Illinois Press, [2020] | Series: Disability histories | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: lccn 2020038245 | isbn 9780252043727 (cloth) | isbn 9780252085703 (paperback) Subjects: lcsh: Slaves—Abuse of—United States—History—19th century. | African Americans with disabilities—History—19th century. | People with disabilities— Abuse of—United States—History—19th century. | People with disabilities— United States—Social conditions—History—19th century. | Slaves—United States—Social conditions—19th century. | United States—Race relations— History—19th century. Classification: lcc e443 .b245 2020 | ddc 306.3/62097309034—dc23 lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020038245 For my parents Leon and Barbara McElhaney In memory of Professor Michael Matambanadzo Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 Disability, Embodiment, and Slavery in the Old South 13 2 Reimagined Communities: Disability and the Making of Slave Families, Communities, and Culture 36 3 A Dose of Law: The Dialogics of Race and Disability in Southern Slave Law and Medicine 64 4 “Cannibals All!” The Politics of Slavery, Ableism, and White Supremacy 95 5 “One Hell of a Metaphor”: Disability and Race on the Antebellum Stage 126 Conclusion 149 Notes 155 Bibliography 189 Index 209 List of Illustrations Figure 1. “Moses D. Wells’ Seed Sower” (ca. 1850s) 15 Figure 2. “Effects of Punishment by Burning, Richmond, Virginia” (1866) 29 Figure 3. The Hunter Plantation, Dallas County, Alabama (ca. 1900) 45 Figure 4. “Ellen Thomas, Age 89” (ca. 1936–38) 50 Figure 5. Title page, Autobiography of Henry Parker (1859) 122 Figure 6. P. T. Barnum advertisement for Joice Heth (1835) 131 Figure 7. Millie and Christine McKoy (n.d.) 136 Figure 8. Thomas “Japanese Tommy” Dilward (ca. 1860) 146 Figure 9. Thomas Waterman Wood, “A Bit of War History: The Contraband, The Recruit, and The Veteran” (1866) 150 Table 1. Equitable distribution of bondpeople to the heirs of Edward Cunningham Sr. 57