The goal of this project is to examine the roots of special education in the US by taking a look at the Chicago institutions and citizens that shaped it. In its current form, this project is limited to the United States, approximately 1880-1944, as the research done here was born out of desire to see what special education looked like before the civil rights movements of the 60s and the ADA.
This project focuses mainly on the education and care of students with physical disabilities. Though this project does not pertain to the education of students with learning disabilities, it is important to note that the overlap between those with physical disability and learning disability was not left unrecognized at the time.
