View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"This is a highly readable and well-edited historical anthology, a wide-ranging collection that deals with mental retardation over two centuries. The book deserves perusal by anyone interested in mental retardation. The plot is powerful, and the questions profound."--"New England Journal of Medicine"

"strongly recommended"
-- "Library Journal"

"Interesting collection of pieces."
--"Gainesville Sun"

"Illuminates the history of mental retardation in America, a subject that has largely been ignored by scholars. This volume goes far beyond the history of institutional care, and covers such subjects as the role of families, changes in concepts of retardation and educational theory, and the role of the state. "Mental Retardation in America" will contribute toward a new understanding of the subject and serve as a stimulus to further research."

--Gerald N. Grob, Rutgers University

"The book will be of value to scholars concerned with the newly emerging history of disability."
--"Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences"

"The anthology provides sound links between the shaping of knowledge and circumstances from reports to legislatures, theses, and classifications of feebl-minded."
--"History of Education Quarterly"

aNoll ad Trentas book succeeds in deepening appreciation of the complex history of mental retardation and in suggesting issues for further study, making it an essential resource for scholars of disability history. Its accessible style and clear organization will also make it of interest to the lay reader...a
--Nursing History Review

The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're anidiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities, Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America.

Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"This is a highly readable and well-edited historical anthology, a wide-ranging collection that deals with mental retardation over two centuries. The book deserves perusal by anyone interested in mental retardation. The plot is powerful, and the questions profound."--"New England Journal of Medicine"

"strongly recommended"
-- "Library Journal"

"Interesting collection of pieces."
--"Gainesville Sun"

"Illuminates the history of mental retardation in America, a subject that has largely been ignored by scholars. This volume goes far beyond the history of institutional care, and covers such subjects as the role of families, changes in concepts of retardation and educational theory, and the role of the state. "Mental Retardation in America" will contribute toward a new understanding of the subject and serve as a stimulus to further research."

--Gerald N. Grob, Rutgers University

"The book will be of value to scholars concerned with the newly emerging history of disability."
--"Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences"

"The anthology provides sound links between the shaping of knowledge and circumstances from reports to legislatures, theses, and classifications of feebl-minded."
--"History of Education Quarterly"

aNoll ad Trentas book succeeds in deepening appreciation of the complex history of mental retardation and in suggesting issues for further study, making it an essential resource for scholars of disability history. Its accessible style and clear organization will also make it of interest to the lay reader...a
--Nursing History Review

The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're anidiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities, Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America.

Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.

Pity, disgust, fear, cure, and prevention-all are words that Americans have used to make sense of what today we call intellectual disability. Inventing the Feeble Mind explores the history of this disability from its several identifications over the past 200 years: idiocy, imbecility, feeblemindedness, mental defect, mental deficiency, mental retardation, and most recently intellectual disability. Using institutional records, private correspondence, personal memories, and rare photographs, James Trent argues that the economic vulnerability of intellectually disabled people (and often their families), more than the claims made for their intellectual and social limitations, has shaped meaning, services, and policies in United States history.