The Deaf History Reader

7. Taking Stock: Alexander Graham Bell and Eugenics, 1883–1922

7 Taking Stock: Alexander Graham Bell and Eugenics, 1883–1922 Brian H. Greenwald Editor’s Introduction Brian Greenwald has studied Alexander Graham Bell’s relationship with the American Deaf community more intensely than any other historian. In the article below, his subtle and complex arguments reflect both careful scholarship and the ambiguity of Bell’s legacy. Greenwald argues that mainstream historians and students of deaf history have overlooked Bell’s role in racist programs and eugenics. Mainstream scholars have emphasized Bell’s scientific contributions and his iconic stature as an American hero. Deaf community historians have demonized Bell for his support for oralism. Greenwald argues, though, that Bell was a key player in the American eugenics movement, and that he could have caused the American Deaf community irreparable damage if he had allowed zealous eugenicists to classify deaf people among those who represented a serious threat to America’s biological well-being. Despite Bell’s interest in and support for eugenics, and despite his studies of deafness and genetics, Greenwald writes, he consistently refused to advocate any programs that would limit the rights of deaf people to marry whom they pleased or that would other136 This article represents a portion of my dissertation, Alexander Graham Bell through the Lens of Eugenics, 1883–1922 (George Washington University, 2006). I would like to thank Nathaniel Comfort for guidance. In addition, I wish to acknowledge Susan Burch for sharing incisive comments. Also, thanks goes to Janey Greenwald-Czubek for her editorial work. The Gallaudet University Press provided valuable suggestions. The research was supported by funding received from Gallaudet Research Institute. Finally, special thanks goes to John Vickrey Van Cleve for the support and willingness to value historical discussion over information technology work. wise—such as through sterilization—take away deaf reproductive rights. Greenwald attributes Bell’s moderation to his familiarity with and respect for deaf individuals. To Deaf people, Alexander Graham Bell is best known for his opposition to Deaf culture and American Sign Language, but Bell was also deeply involved in eugenics. His colleagues and professional collaborators included several of the most important American eugenicists, notably Charles Benedict Davenport, Henry H. Goddard, and David Starr Jordan. Davenport was arguably the most influential figure in the American eugenics movement of the early twentieth century. Goddard, made famous for his work on the Kallikak family, was a well-known psychologist. Jordan was president of Stanford University during the rise of eugenic activity in the United States, and his intellectual contributions helped shape the first organization exclusively devoted to eugenics. Alexander Graham Bell was a zealous eugenics participant along with his better known colleagues. Bell’s mother and wife were both deaf, although paradoxically neither Bell nor Davenport mentions this fact in any of their correspondence with each other. The paradox continues in that, although America celebrates Bell as a true hero, the signing Deaf community spurns him, often identifying Bell as a tyrant, guilty of committing “linguistic and cultural genocide ” against the Deaf community.1 Those Deaf voices, however, remain suppressed and largely unheard in the mainstream intellectual community . Although specialized Deaf history studies contain accounts of Bell and his attitudes toward the Deaf community, nearly all broad examinations of Bell ignore his racial and eugenic attitudes.2 Even scholars in Deaf studies tend to focus on Bell’s advocacy of oralism or to review the debates about Bell’s mission to discourage matrimonial unions among Deaf people. A more concise analysis of Bell’s relationship with Davenport, who was his primary contact with the eugenics movement, will help fill a void overlooked by other scholars. First, a brief historical background is necessary before studying Bell’s eugenic work. Bell’s father, Alexander Melville Bell, devoted much of his life to educating deaf children, and his son initially followed in his footsteps. Melville Bell pioneered the use of “visible speech,” a system he invented, which correlated all speech sounds with particular visual symbols as a way to assist deaf children to learn to speak. Bell began his professional Taking Stock 137 involvement with deaf children by first teaching visible speech and then promoting oralism, the belief that deaf children should to be taught to speak and read lips—without using sign language—and that deaf children could be trained to lead resourceful, independent, and productive lives. Alexander Graham Bell worked with deaf children during a period of national controversy over language varieties...