After college, Keller set out to learn more about the world and how
she could help improve the lives of others. News of her story spread
beyond Massachusetts and New England.
She became a well-known celebrity
and lecturer by sharing her experiences with audiences, and working on
behalf of others living with disabilities. Throughout the first half
of the 20th century, Keller tackled social and political issues,
including women's suffrage, pacifism and birth control. She testified
before Congress, strongly advocating to improve the welfare of blind
people. In 1915, along with renowned city planner George Kessler, she
co-founded Helen Keller International to combat the causes and
consequences of blindness and malnutrition. In 1920, she helped found
the American Civil Liberties Union.
When the American Federation
for the Blind was established in 1921, Keller had an effective national
outlet for her efforts. She became a member in 1924, and participated
in many campaigns to raise awareness, money and support for the blind.
She also joined other organizations dedicated to helping those less
fortunate, including the Permanent Blind War Relief Fund (later called
the American Braille Press).
Soon after she graduated from
college, Keller became a member of the Socialist Party, most likely due
in part to her friendship with John Macy. Between 1909 and 1921, she
wrote several articles about socialism and supported Eugene Debs, a
Socialist Party presidential candidate. Her series of essays on
socialism, entitled "Out of the Dark," described her views on socialism
and world affairs.
It was during this time that Keller first
experienced public prejudice about her disabilities. For most of her
life, the press had been overwhelmingly supportive of her, praising her
courage and intelligence. But after she expressed her socialist views,
some criticized her by calling attention to her disabilities. One
newspaper, the Brooklyn Eagle, wrote that her "mistakes sprung out of the manifest limitations of her development."
Educator Ann Sullivan
Looking for answers and inspiration, in 1886, Keller's mother came across a travelogue by Charles Dickens, American Notes.
She read of the successful education of another deaf and blind child,
Laura Bridgman, and soon dispatched Keller and her father to Baltimore,
Maryland to see specialist Dr. J. Julian Chisolm. After examining
Keller, Chisolm recommended that she see Alexander Graham Bell, the
inventor of the telephone, who was working with deaf children at the
time. Bell met with Keller and her parents, and suggested that they
travel to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts.
There, the family met with the school's director, Michael Anaganos. He
suggested Helen work with one of the institute's most recent
graduates, Anne Sullivan. And so began a 49-year relationship between
teacher and pupil.
In March 1887, Sullivan went to Keller's home
in Alabama and immediately went to work. She began by teaching Helen
finger spelling, starting with the word "doll," to help Keller
understand the gift of a doll she had brought along. Other words would
follow. At first, Keller was curious, then defiant, refusing to
cooperate with Sullivan's instruction. When Keller did cooperate,
Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the connection between the
objects and the letters spelled out in her hand. Sullivan kept working
at it, forcing Helen to go through the regimen.
As Keller's
frustration grew, the tantrums increased. Finally, Sullivan demanded
that she and Keller be isolated from the rest of the family for a time,
so that Keller could concentrate only on Sullivan's instruction. They
moved to a cottage on the plantation.
In a dramatic struggle,
Sullivan taught Keller the word "water"; she helped her make the
connection between the object and the letters by taking Keller out to
the water pump, and placing Keller's hand under the spout. While
Sullivan moved the lever to flush cool water over Keller's hand, she
spelled out the word w-a-t-e-r on Helen's other hand. Keller understood
and repeated the word in Sullivan's hand. She then pounded the ground,
demanding to know its "letter name." Sullivan followed her, spelling
out the word into her hand. Keller moved to other objects with Sullivan
in tow. By nightfall, she had learned 30 words.
A Formal Education
In
1890, Keller began speech classes at the Horace Mann School for the
Deaf in Boston. She would toil for 25 years to learn to speak so that
others could understand her. From 1894 to 1896, she attended the
Wright-Humason School for the Deaf in New York City. There, she worked
on improving her communication skills and studied regular academic
subjects.
Around this time, Keller became determined to attend
college. In 1896, she attended the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, a
preparatory school for women. As her story became known to the general
public, Keller began to meet famous and influential people. One of
them was the writer Mark Twain, who was very impressed with her. They
became friends. Twain introduced her to his friend Henry H. Rogers, a
Standard Oil executive. Rogers was so impressed with Keller's talent,
drive and determination that he agreed to pay for her to attend Radcliff
College. There, she was accompanied by Sullivan, who sat by her side
to interpret lectures and texts.
By this time, Keller had
mastered several methods of communication, including touch-lip reading,
Braille, speech, typing and finger-spelling. With the help of Sullivan
and Sullivan's future husband, John Macy, Keller wrote her first book, The Story of My Life.
It covered her transformation from childhood to 21-year-old college
student. Keller graduated, cum laude, from Radcliffe in 1904, at the
age of 24.
In 1905, Sullivan married John Macy, an instructor at
Harvard University, a social critic and a prominent socialist. After
the marriage, Sullivan continued to be Keller's guide and mentor. When
Keller went to live with the Macys, they both initially gave Keller
their undivided attention. Gradually, however, Anne and John became
distant to each other, as Anne's devotion to Keller continued unabated.
After several years, they separated, though were never divorced.
