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Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
@Nicole_Lee_Sch
Nov 9, 2024 • 9 tweets • 2 min read • Read on X
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It is a really jarring moment to be a historian. To know what might be coming is alarming. To realize that no one around you sees it or acknowledges it is a weird place to be in. Its like time traveling without time traveling. 1/8
I study the 19th century and the 2020s look a lot like 1820s. Frequent epidemics? Check. Inflation? Check. Xenophobia and deportation schemes? Check. Womens rights losses? Check. Rampant backlash against womens economic freedoms and jobs outside the home? Check. 2/8
Growth of carceral facilities? Check. Legislation to forcibly institutionalize disabled people? Check. Targeted attacks on Indigenous peoples? Check. Extreme religious fervor? Check. Efforts to shape public school curriculum with religious rhetoric? Check. Tariffs? Check. 3/8
The antebellum era was a time of progress, but it was also a time fuelled by hate. Slavery fuelled the economy, and antislavery efforts were not very radical on the whole. Hatred against immigrants was widespread and poverty was extensive. 4/8
Everything we are seeing right now happened in the early 1800s. And these choices were fuelled by white supremacy, misogyny, and xenophobia. I really wish more people understood that we've been here and done this. Life only got better for those who actively oppressed others. 5/8
Its time to learn from that history if you havent already. We cannot go back to that. For anyone despairing, its also time to learn from the radical activists who shaped resistance. 19th century activists didnt lose hope, we cannot lose hope either. 6/8
Abolitionists, womens rights organizers, workers rights unions, disability rights orgs, and pro-immigration orgs did the work under far worse circumstances with very little global solidarity. We have better tools, connections, and resources. 7/8
If youre in despair, pick up a history book. Before every win for human rights came a fight for it. We are now a part of that fight. We are not alone. We have all of these histories to guide us. 8/8
People have been asking for book recs - I will make a google sheet next week with some recs! This weekend I am resting, spending time in nature, and making crafts. The work to protect human rights never stops - carve out rest when/where you can.

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More from @Nicole_Lee_Sch

Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Jan 20
Disabled people called this a mass disabling event and cautioned people on how capitalism would plow ahead with disablement and death years ago. Sorry if someone of us are tired of watching our loved ones die, lose their health, and lose their jobs. 1/4
Like I cannot stress how many loved ones are out of work because of ableism, I cannot stress how many people are dealing with long covid on top of existing disabilities. I cannot stress how demoralizing it is to constantly be discriminated against. 2/4
Its exhausting to try to give people receipts, to flag scientific research, to make that research understandable. And then to have someone turn around and go "no I dont like what youre saying fuck you." Ok I dont like this either? 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Dec 29, 2025
Im #OneOfTheTwo because Im already disabled, and I know nothing is capable of saving me in this capitalist hellscape. No govt, no partner, no family member can save me if I become too disabled to work. If I cant work, I cant get the meds I need to stay alive. 1/5
Being disabled is incredibly expensive. Securing drs, paying for scans and bloodwork, covering compounded meds, buying safe foods - I could not afford these things on disability. I literally cannot afford to become more unwell. 2/5
As a historian I know what the government does to people it does not want to care for. And as a disabled community member, I see how poverty accelerates community members towards preventable deaths. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Jul 23, 2025
In the 1810s, economists and govt officials in Europe and the US conducted a ton of poverty investigations. They concluded that poor people were poor because they were just lazy immoral alcoholics. Officials recommended mass incarceration. 1/9
Officials complained that "foreigners" were overcrowding American hospitals, that pension recipients were "faking" disability, and that everyone out of work receiving charity should be institutionalized and forced to work by the govt. 2/9
Officials argued that people needed to feel the "fear" and "shame" of poverty (see Philly report linked below) to actually change. Officials wanted to design a system where welfare was so terrible that ppl would do anything to avoid asking the govt for help. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Jul 23, 2025
Poverty history is wild bc youll get:

Historian #1: wealthy ppl got upset they had to pay taxes for poor relief, so they built the carceral state and passed laws to cut relief. This was bad for poor people. Costs went down bc of threats of incarceration. 1/5
Historian #2: the city was plagued with high poverty rates, so the govt passed laws to regulate relief. Costs went down bc the city hired more govt officials to screen applicants and made "better" choices about who "deserved" care. This was good. 2/5
I google these people.

#1 - history prof, multiple teaching awards, wrote extensively on childhood, poverty, crime, family

#2 - econ prof who then worked in NYC as an economist 3/5
Read 6 tweets
Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Jul 22, 2025
Western medicine is designed to react rather than prevent, which is why so many patients are discarded by it. Even though we talk about utilitarian ethics in emergency situations, the framrwork is behind all forms of care. And it all ties back to capitalism. 1/8
An acute issue, with clear therapeutics? This implies a high ROI - its worth it for the system to fix you. You might go back to school/work/"productivity" which js what capitalism wants. A chronic issue, or one without clear therapeutics? That means a lower ROI. 2/8
I think I experienced this most acutely when I was dealing with #MCAS and lost most foods. I continually went into anaphylaxis. Yet allergists told me to just keep using epi, going to ER, and warned me against limiting my diet. 3/8
Read 8 tweets
Nicole Lee Schroeder, PhD Profile picture
Jul 15, 2025
Its finally here! Feels SO good to finally see it in print. Many thanks to the editors who handled this book with such care, and the other contributors who challenged me to think about my own ethical commitments throughout this process. It was a dream to work with yall! 1/5 A woman sits with a book in her lap. The book cover is bright blue, with a white title that reads "Do Less Harm" in white. Across the cover, the word "Harm" is reprinted multiple times in black, with a red strikethrough across the word. The book is edited by Courtney E. Thompson and Kylie M. Smith
My chapter on "Accessibility" is an ode to every disabled scholar who's been barred from the academy because of ableism. It's also a love letter to those who continue to take COVID precautions, which is a critical component in fostering access for all people. 2/5 A book is flipped open to a particular essay. The title of the piece is "Accessibility" and the author is Nicole Lee Schroeder. You can faintly make out the first paragraph, which reads "In 2020, the world was disabled by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We shifted to remote modalities and collectively prioritized the sanctity of life over the status quo. Friends, family, colleagues, and students navigated a disabled world alongside me. For the first time in my life, I had remote access to research, teaching, and networking. I hoped that we would retain access gains, especially those...
No one should be forced to choose between access or employment. No one should have to hide their disability. And disabled people should benefit from research that depends on our histories, our narratives, and our bodyminds. 3/5
Read 6 tweets

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