Critical Bodies: Disability and Slavery in Early Republic Virginia

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dc.contributor.advisorSidbury, Jamesen_US
dc.creatorJones, Kimberly V.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-22T22:14:12Zen_US
dc.date.available2024-01-22T22:14:12Zen_US
dc.date.created2023-12en_US
dc.date.issued2023-12-01en_US
dc.date.submittedDecember 2023en_US
dc.date.updated2024-01-22T22:14:12Zen_US
dc.descriptionEMBARGO NOTE: This item is embargoed until 2029-12-01en_US
dc.description.abstract“Critical Bodies: Disability and Slavery in Early Republic Virginia” argues that disabled enslaved people were not disposed of in the economic system of slavery. Because enslaved people with disabilities were critical bodies in maintaining the wealth of enslavers, and thus the creation of the United States, their varying degrees of able-bodiedness, had to be lawfully considered. As such, white enslavers created laws and financial policies to account for their disabilities and continue to extract the labor of enslaved people with disabilities to maintain and enhance their wealth. This dissertation examines petitions to the Virginia legislature, coroner records, and narratives of formerly enslaved people to examine how enslavers and enslaved people navigated disabilities in and on enslaved people’s bodies and minds from 1778 until 1850. “Critical Bodies” focuses on the life cycle of enslaved people and their encounters with enslavers and the law to define their disabilities within the complex and fluid interpretations of their bodies and abilities in Virginia. An analysis of enslaved peoples’ disabilities and enslavers’ responses enriches our understanding of gender, law, slavery, and capitalism by focusing on the appearance of disability that incorporates age, mental illness, and reproductive labor. “Critical Bodies” sheds light on the experiences of disabled enslaved people in Virginia and enriches scholarship on the relationships, institutions, and trauma created in slavery.en_US
dc.embargo.lift2029-12-01en_US
dc.embargo.terms2029-12-01en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationJones, Kimberly V. "Critical Bodies: Disability and Slavery in Early Republic Virginia." (2023) PhD diss., Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/115351en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/115351en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectDisabilityen_US
dc.subjectslaveryen_US
dc.subjectgenderen_US
dc.subjectracial capitalismen_US
dc.subjectcapitalismen_US
dc.subjectVirginiaen_US
dc.subjectreproductive laboren_US
dc.subjectslave childrenen_US
dc.subjectelderly slavesen_US
dc.subjectmental illnessen_US
dc.titleCritical Bodies: Disability and Slavery in Early Republic Virginiaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentHistoryen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineHumanitiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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