Raleigh Civil War Disability Marker

This is a post inspired by my friend Daniel S. Goldberg, who writes about the nineteenth century history of disability law -- often in North Carolina -- and its relationship to the development of the social welfare state.  

While I was over in Raleigh to hear the Federalist Society discuss the future of judical appointments, I stopped by to take a couple of pictures for the blog.  What I really needed were the highway marker on Eugenics and also the Old Education Department -- now the Justice Department -- because that's where the Eugenics Board met.  But as I was hunting down the Eugenics Marker, I saw the marker for "Artifical Limbs."  It reads "North Carolina was first state to provide limbs to Confederate amputees.  Factory, which operated 1866-67, was 1/4 mi. NE."  I, of course, immediately thought of Daniel's work.

Coming soon ... a two part Civil Rights trivia question.

Comments

[Bill Turnier]

Your comment on markers for eugenics caused me to think that reminders of widespread bad deeds are typically found at isolated single spots such as the slave auction block in Charleston. Obviously, it is not possible to post markers all over a state saying "Slavery Practiced Here." As time marches on the few markers for society wide atrocities tend to minimize them in the mind of the larger society. Still, such isolated markers are far better than none at all. The observation applies to numerous other atrocities such as mistreatment of Native Americans (I have never seen a marker or monument for this), the Holocaust and disenfranchisement of women, blacks and others based on ethnicity.

[Daniel S. Goldberg]

Thanks for the shout-out, Al!