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Primary Sources to Accompany BackStory Podcast "Body Politics: Disability in America"

Album Description

This album is a bit different from my other learning activities. It started when I came across an episode of the BackStory podcast from 2015, called “Body Politics: Disability in America” on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. This hour-long program provided brief, but nuanced discussions of many important moments in US disability history, including short interviews with expert scholars. I thought this was such a great resource that I decided to find some primary sources to pair with each of the segments. The podcast provides background information and helpful framing, while the primary sources allow for a richer understanding of the topic.

The podcast is available at: https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-532-x34mk66q7m (with a transcript), as well as on other podcast apps, including Spotify.

*Note: Before using some of these sources, discuss respectful language and historical terms (like crippled and defective) which are considered offensive today.

Here are the timestamps for each topic:

-1:45: Millie & Christine McCoy (African American conjoined twins) and side shows

-6:35: Immigration restrictions

-14:55: Graham Bell & oralism

-20:20: Institutionalization in the 19th century

-24:30: Gallaudet's "Deaf President Now" protest (1988)

-33:47: Enslaved people & disabilities; story of Ellen &William Craft

-39:50: Sealo the Seal Boy and side shows

-43:58: Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 & the 504 Sit Ins and the Americans with Disabilities Act

"Carolina twins," Millie and Christina

Reference note

Summary

Photograph shows portrait of conjoined twins and circus performers Millie and Christine McCoy.

Contributor Names

Smith, Joseph P. (Joseph Pearson), Mrs., copyright claimant

Created / Published

c1866.

Subject Headings

-  Millie-Christine,--1851-1912

-  African Americans--Children--1860-1870

-  Girls--1860-1870

-  Conjoined twins--1860-1870

-  Human curiosities--1860-1870

Headings

Albumen prints--1860-1870.

Cartes de visite--1860-1870.

Group portraits--1860-1870.

Portrait photographs--1860-1870.

Notes

-  Title from item.

-  Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by Mrs. Joseph P. Smith, in the Clerk's Office of the U.S. District Court of Maryland.

-  On verso: Deposit April 14/66, Mrs. Joseph P. Smith as proprietor.

-  On verso: two-cent tax stamp.

Medium

1 photographic print on carte de visite mount : albumen ; 10.1 x 6.2 cm (mount)

Call Number/Physical Location

LOT 13301, no. 277 [P&P]

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

ppmsca 34493 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.34493

The Wonderful Two-Headed Woman (Gold Leaf, Nov 30 1899).jpg

Reference note

The Gold Leaf; Nov 30, 1899; p.4 (article in middle of second column on left)

Alt Text

THE WONDERFUL TWO-HEADED WOMAN.

The dual unity - Millie Christine - is attracting the curious public at present. This wonderful being, or beings, is a negro. She was born on Mr. Alexander McCoy's plantation, near Whiteville, Columbus county, N. C, on July 11. 1851. Her parents belonged to Mr. McCoy. Mr. McCoy sold Millie Christine to a man by the name of Brown for $10,000, Mr. Joseph P. Smith, of Wadesboro, going his security. Millie Christine was stolen, and Mr. Smith had to pay Brown's note. He became the owner of Christine; also of her father and mother. Millie Christine was found in London and brought back to North Carolina. She was again abducted and again found. Millie Christine physically has one existence; mentally two. There is only one spine, but two perfectly developed heads and busts. The two heads resemble very much. They - or she - talk intelligently. One sings soprano; the other alto. Millie Christine is indeed the eighth wonder of the age.

Has Two Heads (Topeka State Journal, May 28 1900).jpg

Reference note

The Topeka Street Journal; May 28, 1900, last edition, p.5 (article in far left column)

Alt Text

HAS TWO HEADS.

Millie Christine to Exhibit Here But Not on the Midway.

One of the Leading Attractions at the Street Fair - She is a Veritable Wonder.

Among the visitors who arrived in the city this morning from North Carolina was a party of ladies and gentlemen whom the indefatigable Mr. Barnum, of showman notoriety, has nothing to do with, though here for the edification of the curious.

The most singularly and physiologically interesting member of the party is a woman, or rather two women rolled into one, who certainly is a rival of the famous Siamese twins, and very much more attractive in appearance than Messrs. Chang and Eng.

*Sketch of African American conjoined twins wearing fancy floor length dresses and carrying fans. They appear to be conjoined at the waist.

Those who saw the Siamese twins during their life in this country will have a vivid recollection of the painful look that their features bore and the constrained movement of their bodies while walking in any direction. There is a total absence of this in the party who bears the name of Miss Christine Millie, whose four black eyes and dazzling rows of pearly white teeth, light up a fair Creole complexion with an animation that is really attractive. This singular young woman is the offspring of parents who were slaves In North Carolina previous to the American civil war, and has several brothers and sisters who are like ordinary humanity. During the struggle the family suffered considerable privation; but as a curious illustration of the changes which have taken place in southern society through the war and the declaration of freedom from slavery, it may be mentioned that Christine Millie is now the owner of the plantation on which she was once a slave. As to the lady herself she has bodily one person, though possessed of two heads, two pairs of shoulders, four arms, two pairs of legs, amalgamated curiously with one trunk. One can only say that an hour's audience with her proved her to be a cultured, self-possessed and accomplished person, who has a most singular attainment of being able to hold two totally distinct conversations at the same time with different persons or the same person, can sing a duet very tastefully in two voices, soprano and contralto, can dance a muzurka with singular grace and facility. There was no difficulty made in exhibiting the upper portion of dorsal connection, and it was done without any infringement of modesty. Millie Christine is not a Midway attraction. Her tent is located at the Fifth and Monroe street entrances.

Poster advertising sideshow at the Rutland Fair, Vermont

Reference note

Contributor Names

Delano, Jack, 1914-1997, photographer

Created / Published

1941 Sept.

Subject Headings

-  United States--Vermont--Rutland

Headings

Safety film negatives.

Genre

Safety film negatives

Notes

-  Title and other information from caption card.

-  Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

-  More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

Medium

1 negative : safety ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

LC-USF33- 021129-M1 [P&P] LOT 1249 (corresponding photographic print)

Source Collection

Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

cph 3c25946 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c25946

fsa 8a36682 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a36682

Circus Midway Scene.

Reference note

Summary

This 1935 photograph shows a crowd gathering on the midway of the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, heading towards the entrance marquee tent. On the left is the painted banner line depicting freaks and attractions in the sideshow, an added fee attraction operating before the main show. On the right can be seen concession tents and ticket wagons. Visible behind the marquee entrance is the "free" menagerie tent consisting of the exhibition of exotic caged animals, elephants, and other lead stock. By the 1930s, the midway had become an important part of the American circus experience. Based in Peru, Indiana, the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus was at one time the second-largest circus in America, after the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Its origins went back to famed animal trainer Carl Hagenbeck (1844--1913), whose Carl Hagenbeck Circus was bought by Benjamin Wallace in 1907. The circus ceased operations in 1938.

Contributor Names

Atwell, Harry A., 1879-1957 Photographer.

Created / Published

[place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1935.

Subject Headings

-  United States of America

-  1935

-  Circus

-  Circus performers

-  Crowds

-  Entertainers

-  Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus

Notes

-  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.

-  Original resource extent: 1 glass-plate negative.

-  Original resource at: Circus World Museum.

-  Content in English.

-  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

1 online resource.

Digital Id

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.wdl/wdl.10698

Sideshow, county fair, central Ohio

Reference note

Contributor Names

Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969, photographer

Created / Published

1938 Aug.

Subject Headings

-  United States--Ohio

Headings

Nitrate negatives.

Genre

Nitrate negatives

Notes

-  Title and other information from caption card.

-  Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

-  More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

Medium

1 negative : nitrate ; 35 mm.

Call Number/Physical Location

LC-USF33- 006668-M3 [P&P] LOT 1013 (corresponding photographic print)

Source Collection

Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, DC 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

fsa 8a18878 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8a18878

Article about 1882 Immigration Act (Orleans County Monitor, Apr 24 1882).jpg

Reference note

Orleans County Monitor; April 24, 1882, p.2 (article towards bottom of far left column)

Alt Text

United States Senator Voohees has introduced a bill to regulate emigration. A section of this bill provides that if on examination there shall be found among the passengers any convict, lunatic, idiots, deaf, dumb, blind, maimed, or infirm person, or any person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge, or any person who from any attending circumstances is likely to become a public charge, they shall report the same in writing to the collector of such port, and such person shall not be permitted to land. It is also provided that all foreign convicts, or accused persons of other than political offenses, or persons suffering from mental alienation, in the United States, shall be sent back by the United States to the nations to which they belong and from whence they came, and that the act shall take effect immediately. Should such a bill be passed, there would be no necessity for a bill prohibiting the immigration of the Chinese, as it would keep out the lower classes of that people as well as undesirable immigrants of other races.

Doctor's inspection of suspects for skin diseases, etc.

Reference note

Summary

Immigration officer examining immigrants at Ellis Island.

Created / Published

[1902]

Subject Headings

-  Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)--1900-1910

-  Immigrants--Ellis Island (N.J. and N.Y.)--1900-1910

-  Health--Ellis Island (N.J. and N.Y.)--1900-1910

Headings

Halftone photomechanical prints--1900-1910.

Notes

-  Illus. in: Quarantine sketches. The Maltine Company, [1902], [p. 14].

Medium

1 photomechanical print : halftone.

Call Number/Physical Location

LOT 4837 [P&P;]

Digital Id

cph 3c16222 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3c16222

Held at Ellis Island--undesirable emigrants to be taken back by steamship company that brought them

Reference note

Summary

Three women on bench.

Created / Published

c1902.

Subject Headings

-  Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)--1900-1910

-  Women--Health & welfare--Ellis Island (N.J. and N.Y.)--1900-1910

-  Immigrants--Ellis Island (N.J. and N.Y.)--1900-1910

Headings

Halftone photomechanical prints--1900-1910.

Notes

-  Halftone reproduction of photograph in Quarantine sketches, a pamphlet published as advertising by the Maltine Co.

Medium

1 photomechanical print : halftone.

Call Number/Physical Location

LOT 4837 [P&P;]

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

cph 3b39450 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b39450

Our immigrants at Ellis Island; an exercise prepared for the young people and descriptive of the reception, inspection, and experiences of our immigrants in the detention-room and railway offices,

Reference note

Contributor Names

Clark, Harriet E. (Harriet Elizabeth), 1850-

Created / Published

Boston, Chicago, United Society of Christian Endeavor, c1912.

Subject Headings

-  United States--Emigration and immigration

Notes

-  Also available in digital form on the Library of Congress Web site.

Medium

1 p. l., 13 p. 22 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

JV6435 .C6

Digital Id

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/gdclccn.12013648

Undesirables But Human (Atlantic Tri-Weekly Journal, Dec 3 1921).jpg

Reference note

Atlanta Tri-Weekly Journal; December 3, 1921, p.4 (article towards bottom of second and third columns from the right)

Alt Text

Undesirables But Human By Frederic J. Haskin

New York City, Nov. 28. – in a few days Jackie Schumacher, a little 12 year old cripple boy, must go back alone to Scotland. All of Jackie’s family, who are devoted to him, live in White Plains, N.Y. and he hasn’t a single relative or friend left in his native country. Nevertheless, he must go back. American immigration officials have said so.

Jack’s father, accompanied by an elder son and daughter, came to this country from Scotland soon after the war ended. Mrs. Schumacher and Jackie, with another boy and girl, did not arrive in new York until the early part of 1920. Immigration agents immediately raised an objection to Jackie’s admittance upon the ground that he was a defective and detained him at Ellis island.

Through the aid of friends and the good offices of a congressman, the family was able to obtain the boy’s release by filing a bond guaranteeing that he would not become a public charge. Later this bond was extended. Still the matter was not permanently settled. The family was constantly haunted by the fear that eventually Jackie would have to go, that an immigration officer would come and get him. Several months ago, Mrs. Schumacher died. The doctor who attended her said that her death was due to constant fear and worry over the fate of her son.

And now that fate has come. A general round-up of defectives was recently ordered by the immigration authorities, and Jackie is only one of a large number of forlorn human beings who are to be disposed of in the usual cold-blooded, arbitrary manner at Ellis Island. On the list of undesirables awaiting deportation are likewise mothers and infants who will be torn from their families here, and mentally and physically defective children who are to be cast back upon lands where they no longer have homes.

The blame for this cruel and inhuman treatment of aliens does not belong to our immigration officials. They have no personal influence or authority and merely act as automatons in carrying out the immigration laws. Neither does the blame lie in the laws, which are necessary evils for the protection of the nation from large masses of undesirable citizens. But blame must descend upon a government which fails to provide the means to set aside the laws when it is seen that in individual cases they cause intolerable hardship.

Relentless Law

Even the secretary of labor is virtually powerless to interfere with the immigration machinery, once it is set in motion. The late Secretary of Labor Wilson went about as far as he could when he issues the following instructions to immigration officials:

“While regulation and exclusion and therefore detention are necessary in respect of immigration,” he said, “it should be understood by all who participate in administering these laws that they are not intended to be penalizing. It is with no unfriendliness to aliens that immigrants are detained and some of them excluded, but solely for the protection of our own people and our own institutions. Indifference, then, to the physical or mental comfort of these wards of ours from other lands should not be tolerated.”

That these instructions are not always carefully observed is evidenced by the numerous complaints that have arisen on that score. Indeed, they have recently become so vociferous that the British government, we are informed, has filed a protest with our state department. The immigration officials claim that they do all they can to minimize the necessary hardships inflicted upon aliens and to abolish all that are unnecessary, but that they are handicapped by inadequate facilities.

In other words, the just and equitable treatment of aliens is prevented, according to one immigration official, “by the slimness of congressional appropriations, unwarrantably limited, in view of the fact that the income from arriving aliens in head money alone, since the beginning of the immigration service, has exceeded the total running expenses of the service by more than $2,000,000.”

If congress were not so stingy, continues the official (in words to this effect) the United States would provide an administrative board at Ellis Island, which would be authorized to act in individual cases, considering the circumstances which alter each one, and lifting the penalty of deportation whenever the facts seem to justify such a course. Ellis Island today is like a city with a police system, but without courts. The alien who commits the crime of being undesirable for admittance in the eyes of the law is arrested and sent to jail (or deported, which in some cases amounts to about the same thing) without a trial by judge or jury.

A Typical Case

There is the case of a young man, for instance, who arrived at the island from a South American country. He had lived in the United States for three years, coming originally through Canada, and had an American-born wife and child here. His trip to South America had been made to see his aged mother, who was at the point of death in the home of her other son. He appeared to have every qualification for residence in this country and was able to pass safely through the immigration inquisition when one official inquired almost as an after-thought as to where the young man had been born. Unlucky young man! He was a native of British India and as such could not possibly be admitted to the U.S.A. He was given permission to enter the country long enough to say goodbye to his wife and child, and then back to India he had to go, back to a land he had not seen since early childhood, which was totally unfamiliar to him and where he had no friends or relatives.

“Sometimes,” says an immigration official, “a whole immigrant family is admitted, with the exception of one member – possibly a girl of 15 or 16 who is pronounced a mental defective. The family may protest that she is normal but shy and dazed by her surroundings. In some cases girls have been temporarily admitted through desperate necessity; once in the country they have demonstrated their normality to the extent of earning their own living; private experts have testified to it. Yet nothing can be done. Having been officially certified as “feeble-minded” or for “constitutional psychopathic inferiority” their exclusion is mandatory. Lest they get into the poorhouse or asylum at the public expenses or become the ancestresses of a line of American defectives, they must be mercilessly separated from their families and deported.

“In other cases, where a very young child out of several in a family is found to be defective, the mother must be deported with it as “an accompanying” alien, leaving her other children here and returning to a land where she no longer has a home.”

Incidents of this kind are said to be part of the daily routine at Ellis Island, and there does not seem to be any immediate hope for improvement. Yet many Americans continue to wonder at the ingratitude of our aliens, their lack of enthusiasm for Americanization, and their desire to tote the dollars that they make over here joyously back home.

[Alexander Graham Bell] / Frank Boteler.

Reference note

Summary

Photograph shows portrait of Bell.

Contributor Names

Boteler, Frank M., approximately 1859-1935, photographer

Created / Published

[1904?]

Subject Headings

-  Bell, Alexander Graham,--1847-1922

Headings

Photographic prints--1900-1910.

Portrait photographs--1900-1910.

Genre

Portrait photographs--1900-1910

Photographic prints--1900-1910

Notes

-  Title devised by Library staff.

-  Signed on verso.

-  Date from similar photograph of Bell by Boteler published in Camera magazine, vol. VIII, 1904, page 227.

-  Annenberg batch 5

Medium

1 photograph : gelatin silver print ; sheet 21 x 15 cm.

Call Number/Physical Location

LOT 11533-B-4-17 [item] [P&P]

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

ppmsca 41738 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.41738

Pamphlet by Alexander Graham Bell, 1898

Teaching Notes

“The Question of Sign-Language and the Utility of Signs in the Instruction of the Deaf”

I suggest looking at the last section “Conclusion Defining the Author’s Attitude Towards the Different Methods of Instructing the Deaf” on images 25-26.

Reference note

Contributor Names

Bell, Alexander Graham

Created / Published

1898

Subject Headings

-  Deaf--Education

-  Deaf--Means of communication

-  Sign language

-  Manuscripts

Genre

Manuscripts

Call Number/Physical Location

Series: Article and Speech Files

MSS51268: Folder: "The Question of Sign Language and the Utility of Signs", 1898

Source Collection

Alexander Graham Bell family papers, 1834-1974.

Repository

Manuscript Division

Digital Id

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/magbell.37600801

Deaf & dumb children of St. Rita's School, Cincinnati, singing Star Spangled Banner

Reference note

Contributor Names

Schmidt, J. R., photographer

Created / Published

[1918]

Subject Headings

-  Deaf persons--Ohio--Cincinnati--1910-1920

-  Sign language--Ohio--Cincinnati--1910-1920

-  School children--Ohio--Cincinnati--1910-1920

-  Flags--American--1910-1920

Headings

Glass negatives--1910-1920.

Group portraits--1910-1920.

Photographic prints--Reproductions--1910-1920.

Genre

Group portraits--1910-1920

Glass negatives--1910-1920

Photographic prints--Reproductions--1910-1920

Notes

-  Title from unverified data provided by the National Photo Company on the negative or negative sleeve, where the school name appeared to be written as "St. Rica's."

-  Alternate title, photographer, and date information comes from a copy of the photo at the National Archives and Records Agency, 165-WW-77E-3.

-  Gift; Herbert A. French; 1947.

-  General information about the National Photo Company collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.npco

-  This glass negative might show streaks and other blemishes resulting from a natural deterioration in the original coatings.

-  Temp. note: Batch seven.

Medium

1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller

Call Number/Physical Location

LC-F82- 2886 [P&P]

Source Collection

National Photo Company Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

npcc 33373 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.33373

Utah Commercial Club of the Deaf Dedicates Its Club Rooms (Salt Lake Herald-Republican, Mar 27 1910).jpg

Reference note

The Salt Lake Herald-Republican; March 27, 1910; Section 1, p.12 (article in top center)

Alt Text

Utah Commercial Club of the Deaf Dedicates Its Club Rooms

Picture if you will a gathering of between 20 and 25 people men and women gathered together for a night of social entertainment without so much as a word passing between them and you can realize what transpired in the main at the formal opening last night of the new club rooms of the Utah Commercial Club of the Deaf organized in January and located in the residence of M J Matheis, the organizer, at 1668 South West Temple street. Mr. Matheis is now secretary-treasurer of the organization. It is doubtful if there could have been a more jolly crowd of a more pleasant evening spent than that of the members of this club most of whom are deaf and unable to talk and a few others possessed of the faculty of speech but minus that of hearing.

Organized on January 23 last, as a result of the efforts of Mr. Matheis with a charter membership of 25, the Utah Commercial Club of the Deaf has already done a great deal for the benefit and advancement of this unfortunate class of people in Utah. At the opening last night those in attendance by means of the sign language held animated conversations and exchanged jokes. There was a program of exceptional merit including several addresses, after which cards, dancing and refreshments were enjoyed until an early hour this morning.

The new club house is a five room bungalow, modern throughout and provides an ideal gathering place for the members of the U. C. C. D. The rooms last night were prettily decorated with red and white streamers and a profusion of flowers the walls were adorned with many pictures and the scene presented was a pretty one. Later on the club proposes to secure uptown quarters by which time it is hoped the membership will have been materially increased.

The Utah Commercial Club of the Deaf was organized by Mr. Matheis in January having for its purpose the betterment of the welfare of the deaf of the state for their amusement and

entertainment and to place them upon a par with the hearing public. The deaf of other states an pointed out last night by Mr. Matheis in his address of welcome are classed along with the hearing people and do not experience the hardships which the deaf of Utah encounter especially in the matter of securing employment and social recognition. They have their clubs and

plenty of financial assistance in advancing their welfare.

Utah however is the only state in the union with a commercial club for the deaf and it is the hope of the local organization that untold of benefits will result. The club has been given the endorsement and assurance of support of President Joy H. Johnson of the Salt Lake Commercial club and the members of the deaf organization feel they have every reason to be encouraged.

There are over 2200 deaf people living In Utah and eventually It is hoped all will be affiliated with the recently organized club. Its president Is John Wooldridge and Mr. Matheis is secretary The latter came here from California five years ago and has always labored hard and earnestly for the interest and betterment of the deaf of this state. Mr. Matheis as well as other members of the club can speak quite fluently but their sense of hearing has been entirely obliterated.

A peculiar feature of last night’s gathering was that the dancing was to orchestra music despite the fact that but a very small percentage of the dancers could hear the tones produced by the musicians. “It is an instinct more than anything else,” said Mr. Matheis. “We dance better while music is playing than we can without It despite that we cannot hear the sounds.” Another member of the club who can speak but who is unable to hear is Miss E. DeLong an instructor in the state school for the deaf.

Deaf All Prosperous Here.

In addition to Secretary Matheis’ address of welcome there was a response by President Wooldridge addresses by Miss DeLong and Jacob Beck and several informal talks the evening passing most pleasantly to the members in attendance.

The club house contains five rooms all modern and while occupied as living quarters by Mr .and Mrs. Matheis are at all times available for the use of the club members. On the exterior Is an electric sign bearing the words “Welcome U. C. C. D.,” and the visitor to the club Is extended a greeting and hearty welcome which at once demonstrates the members as being of a most pleasant and cheerful disposition despite their affliction. Speaking of the deaf as a class, Mr. Mathols last night said:

“In a large city the deaf can get along without much trouble only if they are given recognition and are properly understood. In the more metropolitan cities the deaf do not encounter the obstacles they do in the smaller towns. Here in Salt Lake the deaf are not treated exactly right. There are many of them who find it quite

hard to secure employment the business men not seeming to realize what the deaf can do I have visited several larger cities and there the deaf hold government positions and other placed

of trust but here they do not seem to get along as well.

“There are several deaf people in Utah who have their own business including farms, shoe shops, etc. They are determined to do for themselves if they cannot secure outside assistance. Their one trouble is that they are backward and always want help due no doubt to their trouble in finding work and assistance. The U. C. C. D. is going to boost for the deaf and see that they are placed on a par with the hearing people of Utah if possible.”

Honor Guest At Dinner Talks in Sign Language (Evening Star, Oct 15 1925).jpg

Reference note

Evening Star; October 15, 1925; p.9 (article in middle of far left column)

Alt Text

HONOR GUEST AT DINNER TALKS IN SIGN LANGUAGE

Francis P, Gibson, Grand Secretary, Society for Deaf, Urges All to “Keep on Smiling.’’

Francis P. Gibson of Evanston. Ill grand secretary of the National Fraternal Society for the Deaf, and his wife were guests of honor at a banquet given by the Washington chapter of the society at the Continental Hotel last night. Mr. Gibson is on an inspection tour of the different chapters of the organization.

Using the sign language. Mr. Gibson gave a brief talk on "Keep Smiling" and Dr. Percival Hall, president of Gallaudet College, spoke on “Means of Promoting the Welfare of the Organization." Edwin E. Macskoske, chairman, and E. E. Bernstorff and Louis Lovett comprised the committee in charge of the banquet.

C. C. Quinley, president of the local chapter, presided.

The National Fraternal Society of Deaf is an insurance organization, with offices in Chicago. The society was organized when it was found that insurance companies asked higher rates of deaf people, claiming they were bad risks. The records of the society show, It is claimed, that the deaf are as good risks as anybody. The organization was formed by deaf people, and all the national officers are deaf.

American Asylum for Deaf and Dumb, Hartford, Conn. / copyright & lith. 1881, by H.P. Arms Jr., Phila., Pa.

Teaching Notes

There are additional photos/prints of institutions from the 19th and 20th centuries on loc.gov.

Summary

Prints shows the first school for the deaf founded in the United States. Opened in 1817 as the Connecticut Asylum (at Hartford) for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons, the name later changed to the American School for the Deaf. The view of the institution's exterior is surrounded by images (from top left) of Rev. Collins Stone (1863-1870); the chapel interior; Lewis Weld (1830-1853); founder Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (1816-1830); Rev. Wm. W. Turner (1853-1863); the office and library; Edward C. Stone (1871-1876); Clerc monument; gymnasium exterior; shops; girls' study room; Job Williams (1879-18--); boys' study room; cabinet shop interior; school room; and Gallaudet monument

Reference note

Contributor Names

Arms, Hiram P. (Hiram Phelps), 1799-1882, lithographer

Created / Published

Phila., Pa. : Printed by T. Hunter, [c1881]

Subject Headings

-  Gallaudet, T. H.--(Thomas Hopkins),--1787-1851

-  Stone, Collins,--1812-1870

-  Weld, Lewis,--1796-1853

-  Turner, William W.,--Rev

-  Stone, Edward C.,--1840-1878

-  Williams, Job

-  American School, at Hartford, for the Deaf

-  Schools--Connecticut--Hartford--1880-1890

-  School superintendents--Connecticut--Hartford--1880-1890

-  School principals--Connecticut--Hartford--1880-1890

-  Deaf persons--Education--Connecticut--Hartford--1880-1890

Headings

Lithographs--1880-1890.

Genre

Lithographs--1880-1890

Notes

-  Title transcribed from item.

Medium

1 print : lithograph.

Call Number/Physical Location

PGA - Hunter, T.--American asylum... (D size) [P&P]

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

pga 01650 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pga.01650

cph 3a21097 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a21097

Friends' Asylum for the Insane near Frankford.

Teaching Notes

There are additional photos/prints of institutions from the 19th and 20th centuries on loc.gov.

Summary

This circa 1836 lithograph depicts the first private psychiatric hospital in the United States. Known as the Friends' Asylum for the Insane, it was founded in 1813 by the Society of Friends (also called the Quakers) and opened to patients in 1817. The institution stood on land that formerly was a 52-acre farm in Oxford Township, near Frankford, ten kilometers northeast of the center of Philadelphia. The view here, a pastoral scene with men standing in the foreground and animals grazing, is of the almshouse building as it appeared after two patient wings were added to the original structure in 1827. The print is by George Lehman, (circa 1800--70), a Swiss-born landscape artist, engraver, and lithographer, who in 1824 immigrated to the United States with his family, several of whom were also engravers. It was produced by the partnership of Lehman & Duval, which Lehman formed with Peter S. Duval (1804 or 1805--1886), one of the foremost lithographers of his time. The work appeared as the frontispiece of the 1836--40 annual reports of the asylum, which were entitled Annual Report of the State of the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason.

Reference note

Contributor Names

Lehman, George, circa 1800-1870 Artist.

Created / Published

Philadelphia : Lehman & Duval Lithography, 1836.

Subject Headings

-  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia

-  1836

-  Friends Hospital (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

-  Hospitals

-  Lithographs

-  Mentally ill

-  Psychiatric hospitals

-  Society of Friends

Notes

-  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.

-  "Digital catalog number: POS 285"--Note extracted from World Digital Library.

-  Original resource extent: 1 print : lithograph ; 14.5 x 24 centimeters.

-  Original resource at: The Library Company of Philadelphia.

-  Content in English.

-  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

1 online resource.

Source Collection

Philadelphia on Stone

Digital Id

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.wdl/wdl.9287

[People in front of "Old" Fowler Hall at the Columbia Institution for the Deaf (later Gallaudet University), Washington, D.C.]

Reference note

Summary

Stereograph shows "Old" Fowler Hall with a group of people, including young women, posed on the lawn and on the building balcony, at the Columbia Institution for the Deaf, Washington, D.C. Next to the building is scaffolding for the construction of a new wing. Workmen pose at the fence.

Created / Published

c1862.

Subject Headings

-  Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind (Washington, D.C.)--Buildings--1860-1870

-  Buildings--Washington (D.C.)--1860-1870

-  Schools--Washington (D.C.)--1860-1870

Headings

Albumen prints--1860-1870.

Group portraits--1860-1870.

Portrait photographs--1860-1870.

Stereographs--1860-1870.

Genre

Group portraits--1860-1870

Portrait photographs--1860-1870

Stereographs--1860-1870

Albumen prints--1860-1870

Notes

-  Title devised by Library staff. (Source: Flickr Commons project, 2021)

-  Copyright by Gardner & Gibson (Alexander Gardner and James F. Gibson).

Medium

1 photographic print on stereo card : stereograph, albumen.

Call Number/Physical Location

LOT 13696, no. 28 [P&P]

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Digital Id

ppmsca 10107 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.10107

College Hall, Gallaudet University, between 6th and 9th St., NE, Washington, D.C.

Reference note

Contributor Names

Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer

Created / Published

2010.

Subject Headings

-  United States--District of Columbia--Washington (D.C.)

-  America

-  Gallaudet University

Headings

Digital photographs--Color--2000-2010.

Notes

-  Gallaudet University was planned in 1866 by the architecture company: Olmsted, Vaux & Co.

-  Title, date, subject note, and keywords provided by the photographer.

-  Credit line: The George F. Landegger Collection of District of Columbia Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

-  Gift; George F. Landegger; 2010; (DLC/PP-2010:176).

-  Forms part of the George F. Landegger Collection of District of Columbia Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith's America Project in the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

Medium

1 photograph : digital, TIFF file, color.

Call Number/Physical Location

LC-DIG-highsm- 10015 (ONLINE) [P&P]

Source Collection

Highsmith, Carol M., 1946- Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

highsm 10015 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.10015

Video News Clip of Gallaudet "Deaf President Now" Protests in 1988

Teaching Notes

Full clip runs from minute 38:50 - 52:25 and includes footage of the campus protests and an interview with the appointed hearing President, Elisabeth Zinser, and the Deaf Student Body President, Greg Hilbok.

Shorter (2 minute) clip: minute 38:55 - 10:40

https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-507-rf5k93208n?start=2339.64&end=2445.76

Singular Escape from Slavery (Sunday Dispatch, Jan 21 1849).jpg

Teaching Notes

For more background information about the Crafts' escape, see this LOC blog post: 

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/12/an-1848-christmas-story-the-gift-of-freedom/

Reference note

Sunday Dispatch; January 21, 1849, p.1 (article in bottom far right column)

Alt Text

William and Ellen Craft, man and wife, lived with different masters in the State of Georgia. Ellen is so near white, that she can pass without suspicion for a white woman. Her husband is much darker. He is a mechanic, and by working nights and Sundays, he laid up money enough to bring himself and his wife out of slavery. Their plan was without precedent; and though novel, was the means of getting them their freedom. Ellen dressed in man’s clothing, and passed as the master, while her husband passed as the servant. In this way they travelled from Georgia to Philadelphia. On their journey, they put up at the best hotels where they stopped. Neither of them can read or write. And Ellen, knowing that she would be called upon write her name as the hotels, &c., tied her right hand up as though it was lame, which proved of some service to her, as she was called upon several times at hotels to “register” her name. In Charleston, S.C., they put up at the hotel which Governor M’Duffie and John C. Calhoun generally make their home. They arrived in Philadelphia, in four days from the time they started. -Liberator.

Story of Ellen Crafts (Anti-Slavery Bugle, July 14 1849).pdf

Teaching Notes

For more background information about the Crafts' escape, see this LOC blog post: 

https://blogs.loc.gov/loc/2018/12/an-1848-christmas-story-the-gift-of-freedom/

Here and Now (Detroit Evening Times, Oct 9 1942).pdf

Teaching Notes

Article about performers at the Ripley Show, including Sealo

Sec. 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.jpg

Reference note

Sec. 504 is on the last page of the law (p.394)

Alt Text

NONDISCRIMINATION UNDER FEDERAL GRANTS

SEC. 504. No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States, as defined in section 7(6), shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Approved September 26, 1973.

Patient No More Online Exhibit

Teaching Notes

Sources and information on the 504 Sit Ins from 1977

[Jesse Jackson shaking hands with disability advocate Justin Dart Jr., who is in a wheelchair, during a hearing of the House Committee on Education and Labor on a bill which became the Americans with Disabilities Act]

Reference note

Contributor Names

Jenkins, R. Michael, photographer

Created / Published

[17 July 1989]

Subject Headings

-  Jackson, Jesse,--1941

-  Dart, Justin,--1930-2002

-  United States.--Congress.--House.--Committee on Education and Labor

-  People with disabilities--Meetings--Washington (D.C.)--1980-1990

-  Wheelchairs--Washington (D.C.)--1980-1990

-  Legislative hearings--Washington (D.C.)--1980-1990

-  Activists--Washington (D.C.)--1980-1990

Headings

Film negatives--1980-1990.

Genre

Film negatives--1980-1990

Notes

-  Title devised by Library staff.

-  Date from caption information for contact sheet CQ-1989-256.

-  Contact sheet available for reference purposes: CQ-1989-256, no. 17.

-  Forms part of: CQ Roll Call Photograph Collection.

Medium

1 photograph : negative ; film width 35mm (roll format)

Call Number/Physical Location

LC-CQ15-1989-256, no. 17 [P&P]

Source Collection

CQ portion of CQ Roll Call Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print

Digital Id

ppmsca 65015 //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsca.65015

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Teaching Notes

Congress.gov also has the debates on the ADA in the House and Senate, which provide more information on the reasons why lawmakers thought this bill was important.