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The Pros And Cons Of The Bureaucratic System

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In the world of disability, the bureaucratic model is the most important, deciding what disability is and how it should be treated in society. Within this model of disability, the bureaucracy, such as office workers, doctors, and administrators, is given the power to decide the fate of disability. Its origins are in the medical model, though it has developed through the social and civil rights models as well. Its milestones include broad, sweeping legislation like the Civil War Draft laws, the social Darwinist legislation, and the ADAAA. With these legislative acts, the bureaucracy is given power through their duty of enforcement. The strengths and drawbacks are both present in the model, but ultimately, the most significant issue of the model is its ability to let everyday people determine the incredibly complex definition of “disability.” Along with the Civil War came a development in the treatment of disability in the United States: the medical model. The Union was desperately short on manpower by 1862; therefore, they created the Civil War draft laws, which conscripted able-bodied men into the army and exempted those they considered “disabled” (Harder Heroism). This legislation evaluated men based on their bodies and their closeness to the statistical norm, thereby creating the concept of a “normal” body (lecture 9/14). The laws established the medical model of disability by establishing what an “abled” and “disabled” body looks like. An able body is a soldier during

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