Deaf Heritage: A Narrative History of Deaf America

Introduction

In th!? 1521 publication, Dc IIIl'ClltiOIIt' Dialer/ica ,the pioneering humanistic t'd ucator Rudolf Agricola made the statement that deaf people can bl' taught a language . This is one of the earliest positiv!? statements about deafness on record. Further back, in the shrouded mists of antiq uity. references to deaf persons tended to be negative, as in the Misllllllll, the collection of tradiLion~1 rabbinical interpretations of jewish law; in the writing of the Roman lawmaker justinian; and in other works u p through the Renaissance . The most vic.ious pronouncement probably is that attributed to Aristotle: "Those who are born deaf all become senseless and incapable of reason." Practically all of thes' early discourses on hearing loss and on deaf person were written by people whl' were themselves not deaf. It was not until the last 100 years or so that accou nts written by a number of d",af persons appeared in print. These were shaped by actual experiencl' and perception rather than b theory , assumption, and observation. In Deaf Heritage jack R. Cannon, profoundly deaf since the age of eight, has for the first time attempted to bring together a narrative of "the deaf experience" in the United States Over the past century. Just what is " the deaf experienc~?" Hilde Schlesinger and Kathryn Meadow comment in SOl/lid alld Sign: " Profound childhood deafne5s is more than a medical diagnOSis; it is a cultural phenomenon in which social, emotional, linguistic. and intellectual patterns are inextricably bound together." Recognizing the need for some kind of documenIntroduction ta tion of the multi-faceted history of this unique minority group with its distinctive visual culture, three years ago the author began the formidable task of gathering material relating to the origins of schools, programs, organizations, and events relating to deaf people in this country. Reviewing old and yellowed publications and photographs, meticu. lously following up on information tips and sources, interviewing old-timers and cheCking and verifyi ng, Mr. Cannon continued to file, analyze, and claSSify and, in the proCl'SS, found himself always learning sOIllt'thing n l'W. Fascinated by this wealth of information abou t deaf persons and their environment. he soon confronted the twin constraints of timl' and space and the need to become selective if th is introductory history were to be published during the centennial of the National A soriation of the Deaf. [t is hoped that Deaf Heritag~ is bu t a b~ginning of a continuing compilation and closer examination of the impact of deaincss on persons . their achievements, and their traditions. This valuable chronicle should prove helpful as a te t in courses On deaf ulture, in oril'ntation-to-deafne s seminars. in teacher and counselor preparation programs , as a reference source, and simply as interesting literature. Mervin D. Ga rretson Special Assistant to the President Gallaudel College Past President, Nati()n~ 1 AssociiJtinn of the Deaf xxi , " THE • < .Il B B ··E S · 'IO ~ R D, _ . '" ·..t ~ . :..4:~. ~ . . \ SUCCESSOR OF THE '·ABBE DB L'EPEE. . ~D~OI tleIutitut~ fort1e~t40lIof ,• . / _tal anlJ JI, umil, .,.' PRESIDENT OF THE INP'&RIS, ROY.4J;. .IlfsTrrtrrE OF I : 18 AaRIVED IN TRIS TOWN, eN II1R WAY FIIOH LONDeN, TO PAJUr, -. . .Aad hu tlae bollOtU to inform the Nf?bii-itj, ~••04 th4 Public in geaerai, thaf,. ". for tbe aatilfacU9n of tile iAh.bitAnta 01 this faalllewd.le pl~ he will give ' . .1T TJIE . .' . OLD SHIP ROOMS,_ I _ripton, 0. FRID.I1Y t &!lTUlliJiaY lIext. the 2Stt. ad ~9ti ~ ". _ ·of J~:)'instlUJt, .. '. TO .COMMENCE AT ONS'()'i::LOCK IN THE AFTEllNOON. "'.~ I. . • ADMISsiON, 5,. EACH. • ; ric 1 : _ _ .'''' . . .......~'- '" .... , t ' " , I .J . ~~----.--~-~ ,- . --- --, '~,--, •.;:,.... •. .-. ..._.~~._--t- ;tf;'/ ~~= ~. __"'" ~,:-=---e;=--= xxii ...