[Author Unknown]

[Published in The Knickerbocker, December 28, 1846 (6)]

[Edited and Annotated by Jacob Winkelman for the University of Arizona Antebellum Magazine Edition Project, April 8th 2015]

[Editor's Note]

Cripples¹ always interest me strangely, whenever and wherever I see them. I have been most impressed with their appearance when I have met them, as one often does, in the business streets of our populous cities. In such places the contrast is more striking between the activity of whole-limbed, sound-bodied business men, and the painful, snail-like halt of cripples, than in villages, where business moves slowly, and every one's pace corresponds with it. How often have I stood in my old observatory, the door-way of my New-York life, and watched the two opposing currents of people rushing up and down Broadway, each struggling for precedence; and in the midst of the whirling stream would be seen a shapeless body, heaving slowly along, now half-hidden by the waves, and then rising to the surface, till coming nearer, the body takes enough of human form to show that the nobler part of humanity still remains. You look upon his shattered frame with that kind of respect which one feels for the tottering ruins of some ancient castle. You cannot believe that the cripple has lived only the ordinary length of time allotted to mortals. His disfigured members show like old mutilated statuary. He has lived in another world, or in a state of the world differing from that in which other men spend their days. His experiences have been more various and of longer duration. His scars are venerable. They must have been caused by some convulsion of nature in times long gone by. His limbs are rent asunder as a tornado will sometimes rend the limbs of a mighty oak that has long been old. His dress is near enough the present fashion, but it has an antique look. You cannot believe it to be a modern dress. In the constant changes of fashion, one may fancy that the present style has before prevailed; and that with an admirable foresight, this dress had been carefully boxed up by some provident great-grandfather, for the use of one of his descendants who might live when the revolving wheel of fashion had carried the same style into modern times. And the old clothes have fallen into good hands. While he occupies them they will never look older than they now do. You may meet him a hundred times; still the same dress, unchanged. It is as durable as his weather-beaten frame. His clothes cling about him like moss about a rough old tree-trunk. Why should they wear out? He is not a business man.

I am speaking now of those who are cripples in the strictest sense of the term; those beings who move about the world on two stumps instead of legs, and pick up with one hand whatever good things Fortune or their more fortunate neighbors are pleased to favor them with; or those, still more unfortunate, whose withered bodies are chained to a pair of trundle-wheels² by the strong arm of Adversity, as the Roman emperors used to chain captives to their triumphal cars, and drag them through the streets of the imperial city. There is another class who walk on crutches; and still another, more common, who use canes, not for fashion's sake, but compelled by their lameness. I hardly know whether it is strictly proper to include under the general denomination of cripples those who have sought out many inventions to remedy their defects; such as cork legs, wooden legs, etc.; for they, by bringing Art to the help of Nature, have almost placed themselves beyond the pale of crippleism.

There are two grand divisions of cripples; those who are lame from their birth, and those who become lame by accident. The former may be styled the 'ancient and honorable' order of cripples; who are accustomed to regard the latter in the light of interlopers. We cannot withhold our respect from either class; but we confess there is some show of reason in the slighting manner which natural cripples adopt toward accidental ones. The pedigree of the former seems to be better established than that of the latter. We feel the same instinctive reverence for them that we do for an ancient barony, which has kept its titles unchanged and its honor untarnished through a long succession of generations.

In this age of hurry and excitement, cripples attract unusual attention, from their antagonism to the prevailing characteristics of the times. This also wins for them an increased respect from all who look below the surface of things. They form a conservative principle in society. Calmly but steadily do they oppose their slow motion to the hurry of business. They are ripples in life's swift-rushing stream, checking its impetuosity. Their maimed limbs are realities; and as such serve to offset the falsities of a life where little else is real. They have their mission, and it is one not to be despised; that of keeping us constantly reminded that adversity may one day take any of us by the hand, lead us for a season into his dark domain, and then send us back into the world to tell our experience and show our scars to old associates.

A little incident occurred the other day, which, as having some connection with this subject, it may not be amiss to relate here. I was riding over one of our rail-roads toward Boston; and as we passed through the outskirts of a small village, I noticed an aged cripple seated on a sloping bank near the rail-road track, watching, with great apparent interest, the swift motion of the cars as they passed, headed by their panting iron horse, which seemed tired of the stillness of green fields, and eager to join its more noisy city mates. The cripple had laid his crutches down by his side; and although be was a poorly-dressed man, and not of that station in life from which we are apt to expect more than common-place thought, still it was evident to me that both memory and fancy were busily at work in that old man's brain. What would I not give to know his thoughts, as that mighty contrast to all his past and present life swept by him on the lightning wings of modern invention! His lameness was evidently caused by accident³; and years ago, when a boy, he was doubtless as active as any of his playmates. But there were no rail-roads then⁴. Men had not then dreamed of the wonder-working power of steam; how that in a few years that great agency was to wake up the drowsy world, and give a new impetus to all civilized life. As he grew older, and the march of improvement began to tramp along with hastier steps, a strong grasp was laid upon him, and an unwelcome voice called to him to stand aside and let the procession pass. He might gaze at them as they went by, but his step had become too slow and feeble to keep pace with them. And thus this great drama of life was being enacted before his eyes, while he sat a passive spectator, gazing in deep meditation upon the shifting scenes. At times he had vainly essayed to join the crowd, and bury the remembrance of his cares beneath the troubled waters that heaved around him. He had clutched at the skirts of the passing world, but had been rudely shaken off; for his part was not to do, but to suffer and be strong. Slowly and painfully had he learned this lesson, and the study had not been lost. It had nerved him to bear up, with cheerful heart, whatever burthen might fall to his share, and the world, when it ceased to sneer, had learned to respect him.

What that man has suffered can only be known by those who have shared with him this imprisonment of the bodily powers, this blighting of life's first-fruits. 0, ye of the sound limb and robust frame! Little can you appreciate, even in fancy, the feelings which such terrible desertion of manly energy must cause in a hopeful, vigorous mind! With the rough pathway of life stretching far before him; deprived at one blow of the strength which might have aided him to bear up firmly against misfortune and danger; old friends fleeing at the first sign of trouble; if he yet can finish his earthly career triumphantly, he must be formed of no ordinary mould. To place every vain regret for the faded hopes of youth, the first heartless indifference or thoughtless sneer of a gaping world, the grim phantom or more dreadful reality of want, which always haunts the unfortunate, in the scale of human destiny, and have a noble nature outweigh them all, this demands the truest heroism. It is the fiery ordeal through which he must pass who stumbles in the march of life. Nothing but a real unflinching soul can bear him bravely through it; and if he conquers, it is a victory worthy to be inscribed in letters of gold on his after life, and he may well be ranked among the nobility of the human race.

Thinking of this class of our fellow-beings⁵, brings thoughts of that terrible scourge which so much increases their number; and with it comes an involuntary shudder at the recollection of how much misery war has caused⁶. Almost every year this terrible destroyer sweeps over some fair land, blighting all that is lovely, and leaving only blackened ruins as traces of its mad career. Would that the sight of those shattered remnants of humanity who have shared so largely in the spoils of war might infuse a more peaceable spirit among our belligerent statesmen and politicians⁷! Until that desirable time shall come, let us gather from this mass of evil what grains of good we may. Let us profit by the teaching of these eloquent ambassadors whom war sends out into the world, halt and maimed, but bearing always a gospel of patience and endurance to men.

What a perpetual reminder the lame man carries about him! He needs no lectures on humility. That lame leg is worth to him more than a whole barrel of sermons. His crutch is a monitor whose teachings, although inaudible to others sound loudly in his ears; a constant warning to him to beware of pride. It teaches him also a just regard for others’ feelings, for it shows him that he too is mortal. Our pity is awakened at the first sight of a cripple, but on farther reflection we are half inclined to envy him. How easily and naturally his hobble-foot pushes its way through the flimsy web of custom! To him fashions and customs are mere toys; play-things with which the children of men amuse themselves upon the green earth. He can afford to dispense with them all. He has no personal charms to display. Fashion and be have long since ceased to exchange goods. She cannot add a new grace to him, and be would only mar the splendor of her train. He is a lone man; independent, original. His actions spring from himself, and are governed by a law of his own being. He pleases himself; and no one whose good opinion is worth having can fail to be pleased with him. He is respected by all; his lameness is a badge of authority. The beauty and strength that once resided in his withered limbs have retired into his mind, as fallen autumn leaves impart their richness to the soil from which they sprung. Hence his superiority is not merely admissive; it is real. His great soul sits in the ruined temple of his body, as you may imagine Marius seated amidst the ruins of Carthage⁸.

Editor’s Note

The entry "Some Thoughts on Cripples" takes an exceptionally progressive view on those with physical disabilities, especially for the antebellum era. Although the terminology used in the writing, for example “cripple”, “lame”, “deformities” etc., can be jarring to the modern reader, the ideas of the piece are far beyond those common in the 1840s. Disability during this time, whether mental or physical, was grossly misunderstood and resulted in the abandonment, imprisonment, and mistreatment of these individuals. At best, disability was viewed as a sign of genetic inferiority and a burden for families. At worst, and unfortunately far more common, disability would be seen as a sign of moral inferiority and a threat to the survival of the human race (Albrecht). The admiration and inclusion in which the author views those with physical disabilities in this piece (i.e. “our fellow-beings”) marks an important shift from earlier centuries in which the disabled begin to be more humanized than at any other point in history. Despite this progress, the essay also lays the foundation for more troubling attitudes that stigmatized and continue to stigmatize the disabled community. In particular, a closer examination of the author’s division between “those who are lame from their birth” and “those who become lame by accident” allows for discussion about the emergence of the first mainstream antiwar movement in the United States, new forms of industrial labor, the paradoxical categorizations of societal groups within and separate from the disabled, and how each of these problematic sentiments continue to manifest themselves in modern thought about disability.

The distinction the author offers between people born with disabilities and those who suffer from some sort of accident or disease allows him to later discuss war as, “that terrible scourge which so much increases their [the disabled] number”. This edition of The Knickerbocker was published seven months after the beginning of the highly contentious Mexican-American War. For nearly a decade the United States debated over the annexation of Texas, with the awareness that accumulating Texas would most likely result in war with Mexico. In 1845, the Democrats in Congress with the help of Democratic President James K. Polk succeeded in annexing Texas despite bitter protests from the oppositional Whig Party (Foos). Ultimately, the Mexican-American War would be one of the costliest in American history with thousands of casualties, consequentially setting in motion the first widespread antiwar movement (Greenberg). With this context in mind, the strong antiwar positions of the author become more important. One of the results of war, he argues, is an increase in the number of “cripples” and therefore something that needs to be stopped. Regardless of one’s own views on war, this idea of identifying the root of disability implies that society can and should want to fix disability (Dowker). While ending war is a more admirable means than eugenics or systematic imprisonment, the author’s framing of disability as inherently worse than able bodied people or something that society should seek to eradicate, still leaves intact the problematic narrative that disability is an “other” needing to be fixed–a narrative that continues to exist today.

Another unintended consequence of the author’s categorization of the disabled is the emergence of the idea that disabled people become less useful with the advancement of technology. The pervasiveness of disabilities caused by accidents in both this article and society at the time is in part a result of the shift from an agrarian to a more industrial economy in the United States (Albrecht). Labor laws were almost completely nonexistent at this time leaving many workers, especially children, susceptible to debilitating injuries (D’Avolio). For the physically handicapped, industrialization was particularly difficult because it demanded a less flexible and more disciplined workforce than previous agrarian jobs (Barnes). The increase in people with physical handicaps led to more exposure and visibility of the disabled, thus making this a relevant topic of the time. The juxtaposition between the “panting iron horse” and the disabled old man insinuates that the disabled cannot compete or be part of the modern world. Industrialization resulted in more physically handicapped persons, which would ultimately give credence to the legitimacy of exclusionary policies and harmful attitudes toward the disabled.

In addition to the focus on industrialization and war injuries as means of fixing disabled people, the author’s attempt at categorizing the disabled is perhaps the most damaging and pervasive message of the piece. The need to compartmentalize different kinds of disabilities, while common at this time, is a harmful idea that lumps a heterogeneous group of people only similar in the fact that they are not able bodied (Samuels). Joining together all mental and physical abnormalities into one group of “disabled” emerges in this era in conjunction with the introduction of the word “normal” in the 1840s and the soon to be published writings of Darwin (Samuels). This type of thinking lays the groundwork for the detrimental eugenics movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Once the disabled become a socially constructed group, other civil rights movements begin to demand equality on the basis of not being disabled. The women’s rights movement and the African American Civil Rights Movements both pointed to their physical and mental equality with White men as justification for their rights (Baynton). This, of course, is problematic because that leaves the disabled without any claim to equality.

In the context of the 1840s this article reveals an unusual and unique insight into a common person’s perception of the physically handicapped. Most notably, this article conveys a shift toward viewing the disabled as fellow human beings, something that up until this time was not common. The modern reader, however, should also take note of the how the categorization of the disabled by the author outlines what will become the future obstacles for the disabled community in obtaining equality and dignity.

[End Notes]