HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE ADA
Americans with disabilities are vitally important to the fabric of our society and their rights are unequivocally guaranteed by the Constitution. But it wasn’t until the ADA’s passage in 1990, twenty-five years ago this July 26th, signed into law by President H.W. Bush, that a clear statement to the nation and world was made that the United States was capable, will
ing and committed to ensure that the rights of the disabled were to be codified and upheld. Some will argue that the disability rights movement really began in 1928 when an up and coming New York politician named Franklin Delano Roosevelt fell victim to Polio Myelitis. Undeterred by the debilitating affliction, FDR at age 39, bound to a wheelchair and leg braces, began a long and triumphant journey to overcome his disability, and brought the rest of the country and world with him. The history of the ADA did not begin on July 26, 1990 at the signing ceremony at the White House. It did not begin in 1988 when the first ADA was introduced in Congress. The ADA story began a long time ago in cities and towns throughout the United States when people with disabilities began to challenge societal barriers that excluded them from their communities. The historical arc of the ADA demonstrates how government can positively affect change on a national scale, promote technical innovation and stimulate vast economic activity, all the while advocating for Civil Rights through common cause.
