Bell, Alexander Graham
Bell, Alexander Graham

Bell, Alexander Graham

"Having shown the tendency to the formation of a deaf variety of the human race in America, and some of the means that should be taken to counteract it, I commend the whole subject to the attention of scientific men."

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland and moved to Brantford, Ontario in July of 1870. Bell had several careers, such as: educator, linguist, inventor and scientist. He is perhaps best known as one of the primary inventors of the telephone. Most of Bell’s work was in the area of ‘visual language’ or communication for the deaf, but he was also interested in the study of heredity and animal breeding and was an early supporter of the eugenics movement. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not go as far as to advocate for sterilization, but rather emphasized the need for legislation to prevent the entry of what he termed “undesirable ethnical elements” and in order to encourage the “evolution of a higher and nobler type of man in America”.

Like his father, Alexander Melville Bell, Alexander became a teacher and later an authority on elocution and speech correction and promoted his father's technique of ‘Visible Speech’. In 1871, he accepted a position to teach at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes for a year then began tutoring deaf children. Mabel Hubbard, one of Bell’s former students married Bell on July 11, 1877. He was also a long time friend of Helen Keller's. While in Boston, Bell established a private school (1872), and worked as a professor of vocal physiology at the School of Oratory at Boston University. He also invented many instruments to help deaf people hear or feel speech. In 1876, Bell developed the electric telephone.

Bell was heavily involved in American eugenics. He researched the genealogy of deaf-mute families in Martha's Vineyard in the early 1880s (Engs, 2003). He also began breeding experiments on sheep while living in Nova Scotia in 1889 (Engs, 2003). He joined the American Breeders Association, which was involved in the American eugenics movement, and served on the Committee on Eugenics for the American Breeders Association, and eventually he headed the Committee on Deaf Mutism (Engs, 2003 ; Biographiq, 2008).

Bell was also involved with eugenics on an international level - he helped organized the First International Conference on Eugenics (1912), and was honorary president of the Second Conference in 1921 (Engs, 2003 ; Biographiq, 2008). He participated with the Eugenics Record Office in the United States as chairman on the board, and helped guide research carried out by the association (Engs, 2003). He also regularly attended meetings held by the Eugenics Board (Biographiq, 2008). Bell also supported immigration restriction, although he did not support sexual sterilization legislation the day. Instead, Bell was focused on eugenic education, and disseminating knowledge of eugenics (Engs, 2003). His hope was that if the average lay person knew more about how to improve the race, they would act on such knowledge, through better marriages, for example. This was seen as a more favourable solution to Bell, rather than trying to force the population into certain practices.

Bell's personal views on eugenics were quite complex. Although he supported eugenics in principle, he had reservations about the methods used in the United States. In correspondence with Charles Davenport, for example, Bell stressed the need to study the heritability of desirable traits, rather than exclusively focusing on undesirable traits. By focusing on heredity, Bell believed the race could be advanced, not just preserved. Bell was also particularly interested in issues of marriage, and wished to encourage couplings between people with desirable traits. He felt this attitude towards eugenics interfered less with the "liberty of the individual in his pursuit of happiness" (Bell, n.d.).

Given his background his main interest centred around deaf communities. In 1883, Bell delivered a paper entitled "Memoir upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race," in which he discussed Deaf-Mute marriages and inheritance. He argues that intermarriage between Deaf-Mutes created a "race" that shares language and culture. However, he felt that such a segregated culture is a detriment to both society and Deaf-Mutes, and wished instead for greater integration of Deaf-Mutes in mainstream society as a means of curbing discrimination and creating better opportunities in both education and employment. To do so he suggested a series of steps including prohibiting the use of American Sign Language in residential schools, eliminating segregated Deaf social clubs and programs, exposing young Deaf-Mute children to teachers and administrators who were not Deaf-Mute themselves, and using oral education in schools. If such steps were taken, then Bell felt marriage between Deaf-Mutes would decrease, and marriage between Deaf-Mutes and others would increase. This would ultimately result in fewer Deaf children being born, and the elimination of the American deaf community. Although misguided by today’s standards, Bell believed his eugenic ideas would help Deaf people by increasing their opportunities, and making society a safer place for them.

-Moyra Lang and Colette Leung

Bell, Alexander Graham

Bell, Alexander Graham

"Having shown the tendency to the formation of a deaf variety of the human race in America, and some of the means that should be taken to counteract it, I commend the whole subject to the attention of scientific men."

Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was born on March 3, 1847, in Edinburgh, Scotland and moved to Brantford, Ontario in July of 1870. Bell had several careers, such as: educator, linguist, inventor and scientist. He is perhaps best known as one of the primary inventors of the telephone. Most of Bell’s work was in the area of ‘visual language’ or communication for the deaf, but he was also interested in the study of heredity and animal breeding and was an early supporter of the eugenics movement. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not go as far as to advocate for sterilization, but rather emphasized the need for legislation to prevent the entry of what he termed “undesirable ethnical elements” and in order to encourage the “evolution of a higher and nobler type of man in America”.

Like his father, Alexander Melville Bell, Alexander became a teacher and later an authority on elocution and speech correction and promoted his father's technique of ‘Visible Speech’. In 1871, he accepted a position to teach at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes for a year then began tutoring deaf children. Mabel Hubbard, one of Bell’s former students married Bell on July 11, 1877. He was also a long time friend of Helen Keller's. While in Boston, Bell established a private school (1872), and worked as a professor of vocal physiology at the School of Oratory at Boston University. He also invented many instruments to help deaf people hear or feel speech. In 1876, Bell developed the electric telephone.

Bell was heavily involved in American eugenics. He researched the genealogy of deaf-mute families in Martha's Vineyard in the early 1880s (Engs, 2003). He also began breeding experiments on sheep while living in Nova Scotia in 1889 (Engs, 2003). He joined the American Breeders Association, which was involved in the American eugenics movement, and served on the Committee on Eugenics for the American Breeders Association, and eventually he headed the Committee on Deaf Mutism (Engs, 2003 ; Biographiq, 2008).

Bell was also involved with eugenics on an international level - he helped organized the First International Conference on Eugenics (1912), and was honorary president of the Second Conference in 1921 (Engs, 2003 ; Biographiq, 2008). He participated with the Eugenics Record Office in the United States as chairman on the board, and helped guide research carried out by the association (Engs, 2003). He also regularly attended meetings held by the Eugenics Board (Biographiq, 2008). Bell also supported immigration restriction, although he did not support sexual sterilization legislation the day. Instead, Bell was focused on eugenic education, and disseminating knowledge of eugenics (Engs, 2003). His hope was that if the average lay person knew more about how to improve the race, they would act on such knowledge, through better marriages, for example. This was seen as a more favourable solution to Bell, rather than trying to force the population into certain practices.

Bell's personal views on eugenics were quite complex. Although he supported eugenics in principle, he had reservations about the methods used in the United States. In correspondence with Charles Davenport, for example, Bell stressed the need to study the heritability of desirable traits, rather than exclusively focusing on undesirable traits. By focusing on heredity, Bell believed the race could be advanced, not just preserved. Bell was also particularly interested in issues of marriage, and wished to encourage couplings between people with desirable traits. He felt this attitude towards eugenics interfered less with the "liberty of the individual in his pursuit of happiness" (Bell, n.d.).

Given his background his main interest centred around deaf communities. In 1883, Bell delivered a paper entitled "Memoir upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race," in which he discussed Deaf-Mute marriages and inheritance. He argues that intermarriage between Deaf-Mutes created a "race" that shares language and culture. However, he felt that such a segregated culture is a detriment to both society and Deaf-Mutes, and wished instead for greater integration of Deaf-Mutes in mainstream society as a means of curbing discrimination and creating better opportunities in both education and employment. To do so he suggested a series of steps including prohibiting the use of American Sign Language in residential schools, eliminating segregated Deaf social clubs and programs, exposing young Deaf-Mute children to teachers and administrators who were not Deaf-Mute themselves, and using oral education in schools. If such steps were taken, then Bell felt marriage between Deaf-Mutes would decrease, and marriage between Deaf-Mutes and others would increase. This would ultimately result in fewer Deaf children being born, and the elimination of the American deaf community. Although misguided by today’s standards, Bell believed his eugenic ideas would help Deaf people by increasing their opportunities, and making society a safer place for them.

-Moyra Lang and Colette Leung