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.
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.
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."
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?
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