1776: Deaf People's Contributions

I'm not sure if have you seen this post before anyway ?



Could the United States of America have become a free country without the help of deaf people?

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By Roslyn Rosen



We all know the United States is a free country today. We also know that more than two hundred years ago, Amerian colonists fought to gain independence from England. But, do you know how it really started? Do you know how deaf people helped to fight and win freedom for America? Let me tell you.
My great, great, great, great grandfather was born in Martha's Vineyard (near Boston, Massachusetts) in 1730. His name was Silence Dogood. At that time, many deaf people lived on Martha's Vineyard, more than in other parts of the country. Usually there is about one deaf person for each one thousand hearing people. But, on Martha's Vineyard there was 1 deaf person for each 155 hearing people. The hearing people accepted deafness as a natural thing. They signed and used total communication; there was no problem. When my great, great, great, great grandfather Silence Dogood lived, the United States was not a country yet; it was still thirteen colonies under the rule of the English government.
You might know a famous man who lived at that time--Ben Franklin. He was a famous inventor, printer, scientist, and politician. He met my great, great, great, great grandfather and became fascinated with him. They wrote notes back and forth. Ben hired Silence Dogood to work with him. Ben did not really have a good education when he was growing up. But writing notes back and forth with my great, great, great, great grandfather helped Ben to become a skilled writer. Ben started writing articles for newspapers, but he felt people wouldn't really pay attention to him. so, he used the name Dogood as his pen name
My great, great, great, great grandfather worked with Ben Franklin in his print shop and they wrote the newspaper the Pennsylvania Gazette. After a while, Ben decided to hire more deaf people. Writing notes gave him a really good idea; it made him think about establishing a post office so that everyone could send notes. And that's how the post office system got started in the United States
In those days, the United States was under the control of the English Parliament (government). Parliament tried to increase taxes. The colonists did not fight or complain. One day in Boston in 1770, a colonist tried to get a soldier's attention. The soldier did not respond, so the colonist threw a rock at the soldier. British soldiers immediately shot into the crowds and killed five citizens and wounded seven.
When that news reached Ben Franklin, he said, "We have to put it right into the newspaper, that the British soldiers killed our people." But Ben was in a real hurry; he didn't have time to write the story down. So he just told the deaf printer, "Five people were killed and seven wounded by the British." The deaf printer prepared the headline, "5,700 People Killed in Boston Massacre!" The newspaper was printed and distributed. Ben Franklin returned to the shop, saw that headline, and said to the deaf printer, "No, that's wrong! I said 5, not 5,700! You're fired!"
Many people who saw the newspaper became very angry. Before, they had thought, "Oh, so what, we don't mind paying a little bit of tax. No big deal." But, when the Boston Massacre happened, they started to get real upset. They wanted to be free from English rule. So they all gathered at the print shop and they said, "Ben Franklin, you're right about the British. We want to join the army. We can fight. We'll work together to be free." Then they all left.

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Ben Franklin then said, "This is great. I won't tell them it was a mistake. We want them to unite." The deaf printer said with relief, "Okay, but we need to communicate better. Can you learn sign language?" Ben Franklin replied, "Okay." So, he learned to sign a little bit. But it was really hard for him because it was so cold. Ben Franklin then invented the pot-bellied stove. And that's why the pot-bellied stove was invented--to keep the hands warm for signing!
More and more people in the colonies started communicating with each other. They stood outside, talking and talking about the English control over the colonies. The English soldiers objected. They made it illegal for groups to assemble in public. Talking was not allowed! But you know you can't stop deaf people from talking on street corners. They just ignored the English. They talked among themselves and shared news such as, "Do you know what happened? The English are going to increase our taxes. They're going to tax our tea.
People started to complain. They didn't think that Parliament should increase taxes. "We have no voice. We object to taxation without representation. If they want to tax us, fine. But let us vote for it and support it or reject it. So, what should we do about it?" One colonist said, "Why don't we dress as Indians, sneak onto the English ship, and throw the crates of tea into Boston Harbor?" So a group of colonists went to the ship and threw the crates of tea into Boston Harbor. The Boston Tea Party started the deaf people and hearing people working together. Hearing people looked up to deaf people in Boston. They were brave, rebelling against English rule. News of the Boston Tea Party arrived at Congress and made them announce war against England.
Ben Franklin heard that Congress supported war against England to free the colonies. He ran to his print shop late, late at night in the rain and cold. Ben didn't care, he wanted to get that headline, "America at War against England," into the paper. When he got to his print shop, he couldn't find his key. He remembered that his deaf assistant had a key. He went to his assistant's home that dark, cloudy night. He banged on the door but got no response. (At this time there were no doorbells or flashing lights for deaf people.) Ben was really stuck. He needed that key to open his print shop. Then he saw a light on the second floor. That meant the deaf assistant was in bed in that room.
Ben thought of a plan. He got a big red kite. He let it up and tried to get it in front of his assistant's window. The deaf man noticed the kite, stuck his head out of the window, and saw Ben. "What do you want? It's midnight." Ben slowly signed, "I need key." The deaf man said, "I have the key, but I don't want to walk all the way downstairs. So, I'll just tie the key to the kite string. Okay?" Ben said, "Okay." So the deaf man grabbed the string and tied the big iron key onto the string. Just at that same moment the clouds broke open and lightning shot down and struck the key. The shock traveled down to Ben Franklin and he said, "I discovered electricity!" But we know that was really a deaf man's discovery.
Deaf people really communicated well with each other during the Revolution. (You know how fast the news travels through the deaf grapevine.) They were good at getting out information and news about what was happening with the colonies and with the English. The American soldiers became known as Minutemen. That meant soldiers and communicators. The hearing and deaf soldiers worked together. Paul Revere was perhaps the best known Minuteman. He rode on his horse through the towns letting people know what was going on.

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One night the British soldiers were going to attack. The colonists didn't want to be surprised because they didn't have enough guns, bullets, or cannons. They didn't have many soldiers, but the British had many, many soldiers. The colonists didn't know which areas to protect. They had no idea if the British were coming by sea on a ship or by land on horses. Paul Revere said, "It doesn't matter. Someone can give me a signal. I'll just let you know, and then you can get together in the right way to protect yourselves."
Nearby, there was a big church with a big bell. But Paul Revere could not hear, he was deaf himself. So, they used lights to give him the signal--"one if by land, two if by sea." When Paul Revere saw the number of lights, he rode his horse through the town to warn the soldiers and the Minutemen. The British cold not beat the colonists, and no one died in that battle. In Concord, Massachusetts, there is a famous statue of a Minuteman standing with a gun. [By the way, the person who made that statue was Daniel Chester French. He also made the famous statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. If you look at that statue of Lincoln, you will see that his hands carry his initials -- A.L. Daniel Chester French also made the statue of Thomas Gallaudet showing Alice Cogswell the handshape for the letter A. That shows you that the statues of Lincoln, Gallaudet,
The famous battle of Bunker Hill was fought in 1775. You probably know about that battle. The colonists had several problems--not enough guns, not enough bullets, and not enough soldiers. There were only fifteen hundred American soldiers. They were inexperienced. They were farmers, printers, and so on. They were up against three thousand professional British soldiers who had plenty of experience and training. At Bunker Hill the American soldiers became nervous as they watched and waited for the British soldiers. Nothing happened. The deaf soldiers started talking and signing to each other. All of a sudden, they looked up--the British soldiers were almost on top of them! They grabbed their guns and fired. That really impressed General Cage. He said, "Wow, deaf soldiers really save ammunition. Okay, from now on the rule is: Do not fire until you see the whites of the enemies
Tom Jefferson traveled through the colonies to see what was going on. He explained to the people that he wanted the thirteen colonies to become a free country. Tom Jefferson didn't know sign language. He had a difficult time communicating with deaf people, and deaf people had a hard time understanding him. Finally, he had to write everything down to explain what he meant. That paper became the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote that famous paper in 1776. It was really written for the benefit of deaf people. But now, it's a very, very important paper for all Americans.
The colonists continued fighting battles with the British. They won another battle in 1777, the battle of Saratoga. Deaf people were thrilled. They were puzzled why Ben Franklin looked so unhappy. "What's the matter with you?" We've won! You should be happy.

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Ben replied, "Oh I'm worried about the future. What will happen to us? We're using up all our guns and bullets. Our cannons are falling apart, and our soldiers are dying off. We don't have enough of anything. We really need to win this war. I've already gone to France several times, but...." And the deaf people said, "But what? What? What?" Ben said, "I just can't communicate with the French. They can't understand me."



My great, great, great, great grandfather, Silence Dogood, said, "I'll go with you. I'll be your interpreter. I'm great at interpreting with other people in other languages. I'll have no problem." Ben cheered up and said, "Why not? We must have help from the French."



Ben and Silence sailed to France and met with the government representatives and the deaf people there. My great, great, great, great grandfather signed to a deaf Frenchman who then spoke French to the French government officials. The government officials said, "Now we understand. We didn't understand what you wanted before. We will be happy to give money, supplies, and soldiers."



Later, Ben and Silence went to Spain to talk to the king. With deaf people interpreting, they influenced the king to help, too. The king said, "I'll help America fight against England."



England became very weak. The rest is history. You know the colonists won the war, they won their freedom. But, the question is, Could the United States of America have become a free country without the help of deaf people?

Wow awesome I love this !!

i NEVER knew this i m a history lover myself this is a SHOCK and a revelation like this wow good point about this ending, could america really be free without the deaf community's help and now look at today's soceity thier all like eek don t ask me to write back and forth. incredible lesson to learn!