A Crippling Deceit: Mendicancy and the Performance of Disability in Progressive America

摘要

Disabled by the effects of war, illness, poverty, or workplace accidents, the “cripple” was a familiar figure in American urban spaces during the first decade of the 20th century. Despite reformers' concerted efforts to implement new welfare policies and advocate for working men's insurance, many disabled individuals turned to mendicancy. As the number of beggars increased in American cities, it became apparent that many merely feigned impairment, essentially performing disability, in order to garner public sympathy. This essay explores the relationship between performance, disability, and mendicancy in Progressive America. I re-contextualize the mendicant problem in relation to the burgeoning popularity of cinema and film representations of beggars circulated within the first decade of the 20th century. Cinematic depictions of disabled mendicants not only generated beliefs about the disabled community, they also impacted how citizens conceptualized their role in one of America's fundamental personal and civic practices: charity.