WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.820 Welcome to the Deep Dive, the place where we 00:00:01.820 --> 00:00:03.680 take the footnotes of history and turn them into 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:07.000 the main event. You know the name, Helen Keller. 00:00:07.139 --> 00:00:09.619 Oh, absolutely. If I say that name, immediately 00:00:09.619 --> 00:00:12.419 you think of Ann Sullivan, a water pump, and 00:00:12.419 --> 00:00:15.519 the word W -A -T -E -R. Right. It is the essential 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:18.379 American miracle story, the ultimate triumph 00:00:18.379 --> 00:00:21.640 of human resilience over seemingly insurmountable 00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:24.379 odds. And while that moment is, you know, absolutely 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:27.160 foundational to her legend. The unfortunate reality 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:29.539 of history is that we often simplify and frankly 00:00:29.539 --> 00:00:31.699 sanitize our most complex heroes. That's exactly. 00:00:31.920 --> 00:00:33.880 We focus so intensely on the childhood struggle 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:38.060 and just we ignore the profound, often shocking 00:00:38.060 --> 00:00:41.159 adult life. Exactly. Our mission today is to 00:00:41.159 --> 00:00:43.880 unpack the life of Helen Adams Keller, who lived 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:47.280 from 1880 to 1968, and to move far beyond that 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:49.420 inspirational and, I mean, frankly, two -dimensional 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:52.179 picture. We are diving deep into her profound 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:55.100 political radicalism, her secret romantic life, 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:57.500 and the complex philosophical views that made 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:00.219 her not just a disability rights advocate, but 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:02.719 one of the most controversial, dynamic, and closely 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:05.219 monitored women of the 20th century. Yeah. And 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.659 the sources we've gathered for this, they reveal 00:01:07.659 --> 00:01:10.900 a Helen Keller that very few people know. We're 00:01:10.900 --> 00:01:13.760 talking about the suffragist, the staunch pacifist, 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:16.799 the Christian socialist. The unapologetic anti 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:19.439 -capitalist. Absolutely. The active member of 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:21.939 the IWW, the radical labor movement and the person 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:24.700 who, you know, landed herself on the FBI's watch 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:28.439 list for decades. For decades. This wasn't merely 00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:31.180 a figurehead. This was a revolutionary intellect 00:01:31.180 --> 00:01:33.500 operating at the cutting edge of progressive 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:36.000 thought. It's just a stunning contrast to the 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.359 image we usually hold. I mean, just look at the 00:01:38.359 --> 00:01:40.920 academic credentials we often gloss over. Right. 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:43.260 She wasn't just taught to communicate. She attended 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:45.959 Radcliffe College, which was the academic pinnacle 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.920 for women at the time. And at age 24 in 1904, 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:52.099 became the first deafblind person in the United 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.379 States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. And 00:01:54.379 --> 00:01:56.579 that degree wasn't some kind of honorary title. 00:01:56.739 --> 00:01:59.879 No. It was hard -won intellectual proof. And 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:03.290 that success. that relentless determination wasn't 00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:06.090 just deployed for her own benefit. She immediately 00:02:06.090 --> 00:02:08.530 pivoted that energy toward advocating for the 00:02:08.530 --> 00:02:10.430 working class and marginalized people globally. 00:02:10.569 --> 00:02:13.150 It's true. Our journey today will cover the famous 00:02:13.150 --> 00:02:15.289 breakthrough, certainly. But then we're going 00:02:15.289 --> 00:02:17.289 to quickly transition to the extensive support 00:02:17.289 --> 00:02:20.449 system that sustained her for 70 years, her surprising 00:02:20.449 --> 00:02:22.830 political awakening and the backlash it caused, 00:02:23.050 --> 00:02:25.930 and the complicated legacy she left behind. So 00:02:25.930 --> 00:02:29.150 if you are seeking the aha moments that transform 00:02:29.150 --> 00:02:32.960 a simple biography into a story of complex intellectual 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.620 and political engagement, you are absolutely 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:38.020 in the right place. We are going to gain knowledge 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:41.900 quickly but thoroughly. Let's unpack this incredible 00:02:41.900 --> 00:02:45.020 life, starting where it all began, her Alabama 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:47.639 roots. Let's do it. So Helen Keller was born 00:02:47.639 --> 00:02:51.080 on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, at the 00:02:51.080 --> 00:02:53.939 family homestead Ivy Green. Right. And it's so 00:02:53.939 --> 00:02:56.060 important to establish this southern elite background 00:02:56.060 --> 00:02:59.960 because it provides vital context for the radical 00:02:59.960 --> 00:03:01.939 politics she would later champion. Oh, absolutely. 00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:04.759 Her father, Arthur Henley Keller, was a former 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:06.680 Confederate captain and the editor of the local 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:09.379 newspaper, the Tuscumbian North Alabamian. So 00:03:09.379 --> 00:03:11.520 a man of some local standing. And this wasn't 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:13.800 just a military family. It was connected to the 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:17.180 Deep South aristocracy. Her mother, Kate Adams 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:19.620 Keller, was the daughter of a Confederate general, 00:03:19.759 --> 00:03:22.599 Charles W. Adams. Wow. So the family was part 00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.180 of the slaveholding elite before the Civil War, 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:27.639 though the sources do indicate they had lost 00:03:27.639 --> 00:03:29.919 some of their status and wealth later, you know, 00:03:29.919 --> 00:03:33.139 in the Reconstruction era. And that environment, 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:36.750 that aristocracy she was born into. It creates 00:03:36.750 --> 00:03:39.270 this fascinating contrast with the radical labor 00:03:39.270 --> 00:03:41.629 movement she would later join, fighting those 00:03:41.629 --> 00:03:43.590 very power structures. It's a central contradiction 00:03:43.590 --> 00:03:45.810 of her life. That structural privilege is just 00:03:45.810 --> 00:03:49.169 a crucial layer to this story. But her personal 00:03:49.169 --> 00:03:51.629 world changed irrevocably when she was just 19 00:03:51.629 --> 00:03:54.469 months old. The onset of her disability was sudden. 00:03:54.669 --> 00:03:56.870 Incredibly sudden. And doctors at the time were, 00:03:56.969 --> 00:03:59.710 well, they were bewildered. They described the 00:03:59.710 --> 00:04:02.050 unknown illness simply as an acute congestion 00:04:02.050 --> 00:04:04.189 of the stomach and the brain. Which tells you 00:04:04.189 --> 00:04:07.039 basically nothing. Exactly. Given the state of 00:04:07.039 --> 00:04:09.900 medicine in 1881, the diagnosis was vague, but 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:12.400 the impact was devastating. It left her deaf 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:14.939 and blind. Modern analysis, though, it offers 00:04:14.939 --> 00:04:17.160 a much clearer picture of what likely happened. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.839 It does. Contemporary physicians overwhelmingly 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:23.220 believe it may have been meningitis. Specifically, 00:04:23.579 --> 00:04:27.439 meningitis caused by Neisseria meningitatis meningococcus 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:30.199 is the most likely candidate. And what's the 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.459 alternative theory? Well, it could have been 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:35.439 Haemophilus influenza. But, and this is a big 00:04:35.439 --> 00:04:39.339 but, that carried a devastating 97 % juvenile 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:41.519 mortality rate at the time. So the fact that 00:04:41.519 --> 00:04:43.540 she survived. The fact that she survived suggests 00:04:43.540 --> 00:04:45.860 meningococcal meningitis was the more probable 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:48.620 cause. It's a horrific condition, and the sources 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:50.560 show that she described the aftermath of this 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:54.060 illness as being at sea in a dense fog. That 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:56.639 feeling of isolation must have been total but. 00:04:57.500 --> 00:05:00.180 And this is a common misconception. She was not 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:02.060 without communication during those early years. 00:05:02.139 --> 00:05:04.449 Not at all. She was incredibly intelligent and 00:05:04.449 --> 00:05:06.730 she rapidly sought ways to interact with her 00:05:06.730 --> 00:05:08.990 world. So even before Ann Sullivan shows up. 00:05:09.129 --> 00:05:12.430 Right. Before Ann Sullivan arrived, she had developed 00:05:12.430 --> 00:05:15.189 an intricate system. We know she was communicating 00:05:15.189 --> 00:05:17.529 with Martha Washington, the daughter of the family 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:20.250 cook. Martha was only two years older than Helen, 00:05:20.389 --> 00:05:23.089 but she understood Helen's signs and was her 00:05:23.089 --> 00:05:26.069 first real communication partner. And these weren't 00:05:26.069 --> 00:05:29.019 just random gestures. No, not at all. By age 00:05:29.019 --> 00:05:31.139 seven, the sources tell us Keller had developed 00:05:31.139 --> 00:05:33.860 more than 60 specific home signs to communicate 00:05:33.860 --> 00:05:36.540 with her family. This shows a functioning, if 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:40.620 isolated, intelligence. Truly remarkable detail 00:05:40.620 --> 00:05:43.660 that speaks to her adapting senses. Yes. She 00:05:43.660 --> 00:05:45.759 became adept at distinguishing people, family 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:48.240 members, and visitors by the vibration of their 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:51.079 footsteps alone. That's incredible. She was highly 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:53.699 sensitive to seismic input, using her feet and 00:05:53.699 --> 00:05:56.160 body to map the world around her. She was actively 00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:58.399 seeking a way out of the fog, and her family, 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:00.740 well, they were desperate to find a key. And 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:02.839 the process of finding Ann Sullivan sounds like 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:05.519 a quiz to fate, combined with just relentless 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:08.500 effort. It began with her mother, Kate Keller. 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:11.500 Reading something that gave her hope. Yes. Kate 00:06:11.500 --> 00:06:13.839 Keller was inspired by a specific account in 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:16.620 Charles Dickens' American Notes. Oh, Dickens. 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:19.180 Yeah. Detailing the successful education of another 00:06:19.180 --> 00:06:22.579 deafblind woman, Laura Bridgman. That book provided 00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:25.300 the first glimmer of possibility. And this set 00:06:25.300 --> 00:06:28.199 off a chain reaction, right? It did. The family 00:06:28.199 --> 00:06:30.579 first consulted specialists who eventually referred 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:33.139 them to Alexander Graham Bell, who, of course, 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:35.199 wasn't just famous for the telephone. No, he 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:37.680 was deeply invested in working with deaf children. 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:40.339 His wife was deaf. Exactly. Bell was instrumental. 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:43.199 He directed the Kellers to the Perkins Institute 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.420 for the Blind in South Boston, the very place 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:48.500 where Laura Bridgman had been educated and was 00:06:48.500 --> 00:06:51.050 still living. So he sent them to the one place 00:06:51.050 --> 00:06:53.449 in the country that had any experience with this. 00:06:53.529 --> 00:06:56.069 He did. And the Perkins Institute's director, 00:06:56.350 --> 00:06:59.129 Michael Anagnos, understood the specific, unique 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:02.389 needs of this kind of education. It was Anagnos 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:04.970 who hired Ann Sullivan. And she was so young. 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:07.649 Just 20 years old at the time. Visually impaired 00:07:07.649 --> 00:07:11.050 herself due to trachoma and a recent alumna of 00:07:11.050 --> 00:07:14.240 the school. I imagine Sullivan's own experience 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:16.860 with vision loss played a huge role in her unique 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:19.980 empathy and determination. It had to. She arrived 00:07:19.980 --> 00:07:23.920 on March 5, 1887. And Keller later remembered 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.620 that date as my soul's birthday. A beautiful 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.139 phrase. But, you know, the breakthrough wasn't 00:07:30.139 --> 00:07:33.069 a sudden miracle. It was a brutal month -long 00:07:33.069 --> 00:07:36.009 struggle marked by patience, frustration, and 00:07:36.009 --> 00:07:38.910 rebellion on Helen's part. Yeah, the sources 00:07:38.910 --> 00:07:41.949 described Keller's initial efforts as monkey 00:07:41.949 --> 00:07:44.870 -like imitation. Right. She was repeating the 00:07:44.870 --> 00:07:47.250 hand movement Sullivan was signing into her hand, 00:07:47.350 --> 00:07:50.009 but without comprehending that the sign represented 00:07:50.009 --> 00:07:53.649 an abstract concept, a word. or specific thing. 00:07:53.810 --> 00:07:56.129 She was a brilliant mimicker, but without that 00:07:56.129 --> 00:07:58.670 cognitive connection. The intensity of this struggle 00:07:58.670 --> 00:08:01.029 really peaks when she became so frustrated while 00:08:01.029 --> 00:08:03.589 trying to learn the word for mug that she intentionally 00:08:03.589 --> 00:08:06.350 broke the mug, just throwing the pieces in defiance. 00:08:06.509 --> 00:08:08.629 And she's, what, seven years old? Full of energy 00:08:08.629 --> 00:08:11.069 and fury. Exactly. That's the part that is often 00:08:11.069 --> 00:08:12.970 left out of the more saccharine versions of the 00:08:12.970 --> 00:08:15.410 story. The sheer violent frustration of being 00:08:15.410 --> 00:08:17.629 trapped inside her own head. But the legendary 00:08:17.629 --> 00:08:19.589 moment finally happened the following month, 00:08:19.670 --> 00:08:23.300 on April 5th, at the water pump. Yes, the classic 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:25.939 scene. Keller herself captured it perfectly in 00:08:25.939 --> 00:08:28.740 The Story of My Life. As Sullivan ran cool water 00:08:28.740 --> 00:08:31.519 over one hand and fingerspelled W -A -T -E -R 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.960 into the other, Keller described feeling a misty 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:37.879 consciousness as of something forgotten, a thrill 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:40.759 of returning thought. And then the ultimate realization, 00:08:41.019 --> 00:08:43.440 that moment when the sign married the sensation. 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:47.320 Yes. She writes, I knew then that W -A -T -R 00:08:47.320 --> 00:08:49.259 meant the wonderful, cool something that was 00:08:49.259 --> 00:08:51.940 flowing over my hand. The living word awakened 00:08:51.940 --> 00:08:55.919 my soul, gave it light, hope, set it free. It's 00:08:55.919 --> 00:08:57.919 impossible to read that and not understand the 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.440 absolute transformative power of language. And 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:03.039 the change was immediate and total. She didn't 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:06.539 just learn water. She unlocked the entire concept 00:09:06.539 --> 00:09:09.279 of language and abstraction. The sources note 00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:11.399 that she immediately demanded that Sullivan sign 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:13.659 the names of all the other familiar objects and 00:09:13.659 --> 00:09:15.820 people in her world. She finally had the key. 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:18.500 And she was desperate to use it to explore everything. 00:09:18.860 --> 00:09:21.279 What stands out to me here is the pacing. That 00:09:21.279 --> 00:09:23.639 transformation happened overnight, but it was 00:09:23.639 --> 00:09:26.539 preceded by seven years of isolation and a month 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:30.129 of intense, even violent struggle. That's a crucial 00:09:30.129 --> 00:09:32.549 complexity we need to hold on to as we move forward. 00:09:32.769 --> 00:09:35.690 So once that dam of language burst, Helen Keller 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:39.529 became, well, she was unstoppable. Her pursuit 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:42.190 of knowledge was relentless. It really set her 00:09:42.190 --> 00:09:45.070 educational path on a collision course with mainstream 00:09:45.070 --> 00:09:48.350 academic institutions, which was unheard of at 00:09:48.350 --> 00:09:50.809 the time. It was an incredibly rigorous journey, 00:09:50.929 --> 00:09:53.549 combining specialized instruction with the toughest 00:09:53.549 --> 00:09:56.570 academic settings available. Starting in May 00:09:56.570 --> 00:09:59.570 1888, she attended the Perkins Institute for 00:09:59.570 --> 00:10:02.309 the Blind. This was crucial for her initial foundational 00:10:02.309 --> 00:10:04.649 learning in Braille and fingerspelling. But the 00:10:04.649 --> 00:10:06.690 Kellers and Sullivan clearly felt that was only 00:10:06.690 --> 00:10:09.289 the beginning. In 1894, they moved to New York. 00:10:09.429 --> 00:10:11.450 Right. She attended the Wright -Kemison School 00:10:11.450 --> 00:10:13.309 for the Deaf and then learned from the famed 00:10:13.309 --> 00:10:15.470 Sarah Fuller at the Horace Mann School for the 00:10:15.470 --> 00:10:18.230 Deaf. She was constantly shifting to absorb the 00:10:18.230 --> 00:10:20.389 best methods available. And then moved back to 00:10:20.389 --> 00:10:21.889 Massachusetts for the Cambridge School for Young 00:10:21.889 --> 00:10:23.850 Ladies, which was really just prep school. All 00:10:23.850 --> 00:10:26.909 in preparation for her ultimate goal, Radcliffe 00:10:26.909 --> 00:10:29.870 College. She entered in 1900. And you just have 00:10:29.870 --> 00:10:32.610 to stop and think about that. To enter an elite 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:35.710 institution like Radcliffe as a deafblind woman 00:10:35.710 --> 00:10:38.509 in the early 20th century, and then to graduate 00:10:38.509 --> 00:10:42.509 in 1904 as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the academic 00:10:42.509 --> 00:10:45.690 honor society. It's truly an achievement that 00:10:45.690 --> 00:10:48.049 should rank among the highest intellectual feats 00:10:48.049 --> 00:10:51.190 of her generation. It's exceptional, but it underscores 00:10:51.190 --> 00:10:53.350 the cost of her education. Which brings us back 00:10:53.350 --> 00:10:54.970 to that privilege component we mentioned earlier. 00:10:55.710 --> 00:10:58.570 How is this all financed? Because this kind of 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:01.110 specialized traveling education would have been 00:11:01.110 --> 00:11:03.590 astronomical. It was. And that's where the network 00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:06.450 of her admirers stepped in. Mark Twain, who was 00:11:06.450 --> 00:11:08.929 completely fascinated by Keller and her story, 00:11:09.070 --> 00:11:11.370 he once called her one of the two truly great 00:11:11.370 --> 00:11:13.669 characters of the 19th century. High praise from 00:11:13.669 --> 00:11:16.929 Twain. Right. Twain introduced her to Henry Huddleston 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:19.570 Rogers, the standard oil magnate, and his wife, 00:11:19.669 --> 00:11:22.220 Abby. The ultimate capital. Precisely. The Rogers 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:25.139 family were crucial patrons. They recognized 00:11:25.139 --> 00:11:27.879 her genius and paid for her entire education, 00:11:28.139 --> 00:11:30.759 ensuring she could access these elite institutions 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:33.539 without financial limitation. And Keller was 00:11:33.539 --> 00:11:36.299 acutely aware of this, wasn't she? This financer 00:11:36.299 --> 00:11:38.399 advantage. Oh, absolutely. It's something she 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.399 would later dissect in her political life. The 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:42.840 irony is just staggering. She had the backing 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.299 of one of the richest men in America, which allowed 00:11:45.299 --> 00:11:47.480 her to become one of the fiercest critics of 00:11:47.480 --> 00:11:50.379 American capitalism. That contradiction is so 00:11:50.379 --> 00:11:52.779 central to her story. And shifting to her practical 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.100 communication, her commitment to communicating 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:58.259 conventionally is just staggering. She gave speeches 00:11:58.259 --> 00:12:00.700 and lectures globally, which for a deafblind 00:12:00.700 --> 00:12:03.419 person was an immense physical and intellectual 00:12:03.419 --> 00:12:06.039 feat. Right. She couldn't just read notes or 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:08.440 hear feedback from the audience. No. The method 00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:11.100 she used to hear others speak, called the Tadoma 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:14.120 method, is something few people outside of specialized 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.860 deafblind communication circles even know about. 00:12:17.100 --> 00:12:19.179 So what is the Tadoma method? How does it work? 00:12:19.320 --> 00:12:22.600 The Todona method is truly extraordinary. It 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:25.740 involves placing one's thumb lightly on the speaker's 00:12:25.740 --> 00:12:28.539 lips and the fingers along their jawline and 00:12:28.539 --> 00:12:31.039 throat. So she's not hearing air vibrations? 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.919 No. She was feeling the physical mechanics of 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:36.320 the sound production, the vibrations of the vocal 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.460 cords, the movement of the lips, the puffs of 00:12:38.460 --> 00:12:41.639 air. It requires intense concentration and an 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:45.559 almost superhuman tactile sensitivity. It sounds 00:12:45.559 --> 00:12:47.730 exhausting. both for her and for the speaker, 00:12:47.950 --> 00:12:49.710 who would have had to remain perfectly still. 00:12:50.110 --> 00:12:53.070 Incredibly so. It speaks volumes about her determination 00:12:53.070 --> 00:12:55.610 to engage directly with the hearing and speaking 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:58.590 world rather than relying solely on fingerspelling, 00:12:58.629 --> 00:13:00.350 which was her primary method of communicating 00:13:00.350 --> 00:13:02.659 with Sullivan. And then there was Braille. And 00:13:02.659 --> 00:13:05.039 she was proficient in American Braille, of course, 00:13:05.200 --> 00:13:08.299 which uses a slightly reordered alphabet compared 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:11.019 to standard Braille. She had to master multiple 00:13:11.019 --> 00:13:13.779 systems just to read a textbook, a process that 00:13:13.779 --> 00:13:16.700 was slow and laborious compared to sighted students. 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:19.059 The sources mentioned the immense difficulty 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:22.320 she had taking exams and just reading the volume 00:13:22.320 --> 00:13:24.659 of material required at Radcliffe. Which makes 00:13:24.659 --> 00:13:27.179 her Phi Beta Kappa distinction all the more astounding. 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:29.379 You mentioned she experienced music, which, I 00:13:29.379 --> 00:13:31.639 mean, conceptually that seems impossible. How 00:13:31.639 --> 00:13:33.789 did that work? This is one of the most surprising 00:13:33.789 --> 00:13:37.029 details we pulled from the sources. Shortly before 00:13:37.029 --> 00:13:40.149 World War I, she discovered this unexpected sensory 00:13:40.149 --> 00:13:43.049 pathway with the help of the Zoellner Quartet. 00:13:43.230 --> 00:13:46.409 A string quartet. Yes. By placing her sensitive 00:13:46.409 --> 00:13:49.450 fingertips on a highly resonant surface, specifically 00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:52.570 a tabletop, she found she could feel the complex 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:55.289 vibrational structure of music played close by. 00:13:55.490 --> 00:13:57.950 So she wasn't perceiving pitch or tone in the 00:13:57.950 --> 00:14:00.669 way we might? No, but she was experiencing the 00:14:00.669 --> 00:14:02.889 rhythm and the harmonic interplay through sheer 00:14:02.889 --> 00:14:05.929 physical vibration. That capacity for sensory 00:14:05.929 --> 00:14:08.750 adaptation is just profound. It really highlights 00:14:08.750 --> 00:14:11.129 the plasticity of the human brain. She found 00:14:11.129 --> 00:14:13.149 ways to interpret physical input as cultural 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:15.840 and emotional output. And we know from her correspondence 00:14:15.840 --> 00:14:18.639 with intellectual figures like the Austrian philosopher 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:21.539 Wilhelm Jerusalem that her literary talent and 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:24.139 intellectual hunger were recognized globally. 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:27.200 This reinforced her status not just as a medical 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.960 marvel, but as a genuine intellectual force. 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.600 What an incredible journey just to achieve literacy 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.980 and a college degree. But that focus on academia 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:39.200 and education quickly gave way to a much deeper, 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:42.879 more complex personal life and a radical political 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.659 career. The narrative of Helen Keller usually 00:14:45.659 --> 00:14:48.440 freezes Ann Sullivan in time as the teacher. 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:51.340 But the reality is that Keller's life was sustained 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:54.960 for decades by a complex, rotating system of 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:57.480 companions and secretaries. Right. Ann Sullivan 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:00.200 was a constant presence, yes. But her role changed 00:15:00.200 --> 00:15:02.539 significantly after she married John Macy in 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:05.750 1905. The marriage created a strain, for sure, 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:08.450 and the dynamic shifted from an intensely private 00:15:08.450 --> 00:15:11.190 student -teacher relationship to a more domestic, 00:15:11.370 --> 00:15:14.610 shared existence. And Ann Sullivan suffered from 00:15:14.610 --> 00:15:17.029 chronic health issues, particularly around 1914, 00:15:17.269 --> 00:15:19.929 which created a logistical need for more help. 00:15:20.070 --> 00:15:21.850 And that necessity brought in Polly Thompson. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.259 Polly Thompson, a young Scottish woman, initially 00:15:24.259 --> 00:15:26.299 entered the household strictly to keep house. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:28.840 But as Sullivan's health declined, Thompson's 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:31.620 role expanded quickly to secretary, travel organizer, 00:15:31.899 --> 00:15:34.399 and eventually Keller's second most constant 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.879 companion. These weren't just staff. Not at all. 00:15:36.940 --> 00:15:38.779 These were individuals who shared her entire 00:15:38.779 --> 00:15:42.340 life, acting as her eyes, ears, and voice. It 00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:44.379 just speaks to the immense logistical burden 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:46.919 of Keller's existence that it required multiple 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:49.440 dedicated individuals working around the clock. 00:15:49.870 --> 00:15:53.370 Ann Sullivan finally died in 1936, which must 00:15:53.370 --> 00:15:55.389 have been a massive blow to Keller. It was a 00:15:55.389 --> 00:15:57.870 heartbreaking moment. Keller was holding Sullivan's 00:15:57.870 --> 00:16:00.850 hand when she died of coronary thrombosis, ending 00:16:00.850 --> 00:16:03.389 a relationship that spanned nearly 50 years. 00:16:03.730 --> 00:16:05.889 Unbelievable. Following this, the partnership 00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:09.110 between Keller and Polly Thompson really solidified. 00:16:09.269 --> 00:16:11.429 They moved to a home in Connecticut, Arkin Ridge, 00:16:11.629 --> 00:16:14.070 and spent years traveling the world, relentlessly 00:16:14.070 --> 00:16:16.309 raising funds for the American Foundation for 00:16:16.309 --> 00:16:18.450 the Blind. And the chain of dedication continued 00:16:18.450 --> 00:16:21.460 even after Polly Thompson. It did. Polly Thompson 00:16:21.460 --> 00:16:24.340 suffered a stroke in 1957 and passed away in 00:16:24.340 --> 00:16:27.279 1960. The sources show that Winnie Corbally, 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.639 a nurse who was initially hired to care for the 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.299 ailing Polly, stayed on after Polly's death and 00:16:32.299 --> 00:16:34.399 became Keller's final companion, maintaining 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:36.679 that crucial continuity of communication and 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:39.899 care until Keller's death in 1968. That system 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:43.639 of companions spanning over seven decades. It's 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:46.019 a silent testament to the extraordinary level 00:16:46.019 --> 00:16:48.159 of commitment required to support her success. 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:50.899 It is. Now, let's turn to the romantic life, 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.039 which is perhaps the most shattering detail in 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.519 the popular narrative. We're often led to believe 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:00.059 Helen Keller was almost asexual, a saintly figure 00:17:00.059 --> 00:17:03.139 untouched by conventional human desires. But 00:17:03.139 --> 00:17:06.059 the sources reveal a passionate woman. They absolutely 00:17:06.059 --> 00:17:09.500 do. While in her 30s, Helen Keller had a real, 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.339 tangible love affair, became secretly engaged, 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:15.480 and attempted an elopement. This deeply humanizes 00:17:15.480 --> 00:17:17.579 her, revealing her desire for a partnership, 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:19.740 marriage, and a conventional life, something 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:22.119 that was generally deemed impossible for a woman 00:17:22.119 --> 00:17:24.319 with her disabilities at the time. And the man 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:26.980 was Peter Fagan. Tell us more about the finger 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:29.380 -spelling socialist. What a title. Peter Fagan 00:17:29.380 --> 00:17:31.849 was a young reporter for the Boston Herald. He 00:17:31.849 --> 00:17:33.509 had been sent to act as her private secretary 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:35.849 during a period when Ann Sullivan was seriously 00:17:35.849 --> 00:17:38.329 ill and unable to perform all her duties. And 00:17:38.329 --> 00:17:40.670 the connection was? It was obviously immediate 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:43.230 and intense, and he shared her political leanings, 00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:45.430 hence the nickname. So he was both her lover 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:48.009 and a fellow political traveler. This entire 00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:50.569 affair was done in secret, defying Sullivan and 00:17:50.569 --> 00:17:53.509 her family. Yes. Her father had recently died, 00:17:53.630 --> 00:17:55.250 and Keller and her mother were in Montgomery, 00:17:55.470 --> 00:17:58.000 Alabama at the time. The engagement was hidden 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:00.339 and the attempt to elope was a dramatic act of 00:18:00.339 --> 00:18:02.720 rebellion against the restrictive social and 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:05.059 familial structures that surrounded her. But 00:18:05.059 --> 00:18:07.779 it was thwarted. It was ultimately thwarted and 00:18:07.779 --> 00:18:10.039 the relationship ended, but it shows her profound 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.220 independence and her willingness to fight for 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:14.680 her personal happiness. She wanted a partnership, 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:17.559 not just a caregiver. It truly shatters the almost 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:19.940 childlike image we have of her. He was a fully 00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:23.740 formed, rebellious adult woman. Absolutely. And 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:26.039 speaking of companionship, let's transition to 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:29.299 a different kind of bond, her dogs. It's a warm, 00:18:29.319 --> 00:18:32.000 humanizing detail in a life that was otherwise 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:34.500 dominated by immense political and intellectual 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:37.059 struggles. Helen Keller was famous for her love 00:18:37.059 --> 00:18:40.259 of Akita dogs. Where did that begin? It began 00:18:40.259 --> 00:18:43.579 during a major visit to Japan in June 1937, where 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:46.299 she was incredibly popular. During that trip, 00:18:46.299 --> 00:18:48.539 she naturally inquired about the legendary Hachiku. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:51.420 Oh, the loyal dog from the train station. That's 00:18:51.420 --> 00:18:54.019 the one. The Akita, famous for searching for 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:56.380 his deceased master at the Shibuya station for 00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:59.180 nearly a decade. She fell in love with the loyalty 00:18:59.180 --> 00:19:01.359 and temperament of the breed. And she didn't 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:03.299 just admire them, she brought them back with 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:05.799 her. She did. The first Akita given to her was 00:19:05.799 --> 00:19:08.950 Kamikaze Go. This dog is historically significant 00:19:08.950 --> 00:19:11.710 because he was the first Akita to ever travel 00:19:11.710 --> 00:19:14.430 overseas from Japan and the first Akita to be 00:19:14.430 --> 00:19:17.890 officially registered in America. Sadly, he died 00:19:17.890 --> 00:19:20.329 shortly after arrival from an infection, which 00:19:20.329 --> 00:19:23.650 was a devastating loss for Keller. But the generosity 00:19:23.650 --> 00:19:26.309 of the Japanese people continued. They immediately 00:19:26.309 --> 00:19:29.509 gave her Kamikaze -go's brother, Kenzango, whom 00:19:29.509 --> 00:19:32.859 she affectionately nicknamed Gogo. The bond was 00:19:32.859 --> 00:19:35.299 immediate, and Gogo became a profound companion. 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:38.480 The sources note that Gogo slept faithfully at 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:40.700 the foot of her bed. That's lovely. These dogs 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:42.819 were more than pets. They were physical companions, 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:46.240 offering a tangible, loyal presence in her silent, 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.220 dark world. That detail about the Akita, the 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:51.160 loyal dog who sleeps at the foot of the bed, 00:19:51.299 --> 00:19:54.539 is a lovely moment of peace before we plunge 00:19:54.539 --> 00:19:57.500 into the tempest of her political life. That 00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:59.380 is the part of her story that the curriculum... 00:19:59.690 --> 00:20:02.650 almost universally ignores. This is where we 00:20:02.650 --> 00:20:04.529 need to spend the most time, because this is 00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:06.930 the true core of Helen Geller's adult legacy. 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:09.869 She was an activist for a vast array of radical 00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:12.670 causes, far more than just advocating for the 00:20:12.670 --> 00:20:15.690 blind. Indeed. She was a tirelessly dedicated 00:20:15.690 --> 00:20:18.109 suffragist, believing women deserve the right 00:20:18.109 --> 00:20:20.690 to vote. She was an outspoken pacifist during 00:20:20.690 --> 00:20:23.369 the lead -up to World War I. She supported the 00:20:23.369 --> 00:20:25.369 nascent birth control movement, and she was an 00:20:25.369 --> 00:20:29.170 ardent Christian socialist. And in 1915, She 00:20:29.170 --> 00:20:31.829 co -founded Helen Keller International, HKI. 00:20:32.089 --> 00:20:34.569 Right, which is focused on research and advocacy 00:20:34.569 --> 00:20:38.230 in vision, health, and nutrition worldwide. Still 00:20:38.230 --> 00:20:40.549 operating today. And her commitment wasn't just 00:20:40.549 --> 00:20:43.509 limited to white progressive circles. In 1916, 00:20:43.569 --> 00:20:46.809 she sent money to the NAACP, expressing her profound 00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:49.430 shame over the Southern unchristian treatment 00:20:49.430 --> 00:20:51.859 of colored people. Coming from a privileged Southern 00:20:51.859 --> 00:20:54.200 background, that public statement was a huge 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:57.140 ideological leap. And she helped found organizations 00:20:57.140 --> 00:21:00.079 that shape American civil liberties to this day. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.619 In 1920, Helen Keller was a founding member of 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.940 the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU. 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:09.200 A founding member. She was instrumental in establishing 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:11.720 the framework for free speech and political rights 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:15.000 in the U .S. So she's supporting civil rights, 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:18.730 women's rights, and free speech. but her political 00:21:18.730 --> 00:21:22.029 core was fundamentally rooted in socialism. When 00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:24.430 did she make this commitment? She formally joined 00:21:24.430 --> 00:21:27.829 the Socialist Party of America, the SPA, in 1909. 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:30.990 For the next decade, she actively campaigned, 00:21:30.990 --> 00:21:33.210 lectured, and wrote in support of the working 00:21:33.210 --> 00:21:36.829 class, backing SPA candidate Eugene V. Debs in 00:21:36.829 --> 00:21:39.670 his presidential campaigns. Her ideology was 00:21:39.670 --> 00:21:42.089 intensely focused on economic justice. Yes, she 00:21:42.089 --> 00:21:44.190 was incredibly eloquent about the link between 00:21:44.190 --> 00:21:46.700 her own personal success and the political system 00:21:46.700 --> 00:21:48.559 she was trying to dismantle. She was explicit 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.859 about the role of privilege. She wrote, I owed 00:21:50.859 --> 00:21:52.980 my success partly to the advantages of my birth 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:55.079 and environment. I have learned that the power 00:21:55.079 --> 00:21:57.099 to rise is not within the reach of everyone. 00:21:57.380 --> 00:21:59.220 She knew that without the Rogers family financing 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:02.599 her education. Exactly. Without one of the richest 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:05.160 families in America, her story would have been 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:08.079 just another tragedy. She felt compelled to fight 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:10.619 for the millions who lacked that access. Her 00:22:10.619 --> 00:22:13.539 defining worldview is captured in a powerful 00:22:13.539 --> 00:22:17.410 quote from 1911. which directly critiques the 00:22:17.410 --> 00:22:20.049 capitalist system of the time. Let's unpack this 00:22:20.049 --> 00:22:22.509 because this is strong revolutionary language. 00:22:22.730 --> 00:22:26.349 It is. She didn't mince words. She stated the 00:22:26.349 --> 00:22:28.849 few own the many because they possess the means 00:22:28.849 --> 00:22:31.430 of livelihood of all. And then she says the country 00:22:31.430 --> 00:22:33.430 is governed for the richest, for the corporations, 00:22:33.630 --> 00:22:36.549 the bankers, the land speculators, and for the 00:22:36.549 --> 00:22:39.430 exploiters of labor. This sounds less like the 00:22:39.430 --> 00:22:42.130 sweet, inspirational figure and more like a hardline 00:22:42.130 --> 00:22:45.029 revolutionary. How was this received by the American 00:22:45.029 --> 00:22:47.710 public, which already adored the miracle worker? 00:22:47.990 --> 00:22:50.710 It was met with shock and hostility, particularly 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:53.210 from the mainstream press, which had built its 00:22:53.210 --> 00:22:56.329 reputation on her inspirational narrative. She 00:22:56.329 --> 00:22:58.509 was challenging the very foundation of American 00:22:58.509 --> 00:23:01.049 economic identity. She wasn't just criticizing. 00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:03.470 She was offering a diagnosis of class warfare. 00:23:04.029 --> 00:23:06.569 And she continues, connecting economic disparity 00:23:06.569 --> 00:23:09.150 directly to fundamental human rights, which is 00:23:09.150 --> 00:23:12.210 often a socialist hallmark. She said, the majority 00:23:12.210 --> 00:23:14.970 of mankind are working people. So long as their 00:23:14.970 --> 00:23:17.529 fair demands, the ownership and control of their 00:23:17.529 --> 00:23:20.109 livelihoods are set at naught, we can have neither 00:23:20.109 --> 00:23:22.970 men's rights nor women's rights. The majority 00:23:22.970 --> 00:23:25.769 of mankind is ground down by industrial oppression 00:23:25.769 --> 00:23:29.130 in order that the small remnant may live in ease. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:32.019 To Keller, the personal fight for dignity was 00:23:32.019 --> 00:23:34.339 inseparable from the political fight for economic 00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:36.559 ownership. But she even found the Socialist Party 00:23:36.559 --> 00:23:39.099 of America too slow in their progress, correct? 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:42.380 She wanted more action. That's right. By 1912, 00:23:42.460 --> 00:23:44.680 she felt parliamentary socialism working through 00:23:44.680 --> 00:23:47.099 the existing political system was sinking in 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:49.720 the political bog. She needed more immediate 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:52.240 direct action, so she upped the ante and joined 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.759 the Industrial Workers of the World, the IWW. 00:23:55.549 --> 00:23:58.690 The Wobblies. The Wobblies. And the IWW was extremely 00:23:58.690 --> 00:24:01.710 radical compared to the SPA. What distinguished 00:24:01.710 --> 00:24:04.880 them and why did she join them? The IWW advocated 00:24:04.880 --> 00:24:07.920 for industrial unionism. They believed all workers 00:24:07.920 --> 00:24:11.019 should organize into one single union, regardless 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:14.180 of skill or trade. And they focused on direct 00:24:14.180 --> 00:24:17.279 action strikes, boycotts, and eventually the 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:19.920 revolutionary overthrow of the wage system. So 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:22.579 anti -capitalist, anarcho -syndicalist in spirit. 00:24:22.819 --> 00:24:25.380 Completely. Dedicated to fighting the bosses 00:24:25.380 --> 00:24:28.380 head on, she wrote articles for the IWW between 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:32.210 1916 and 1918. This move is crucial. And the 00:24:32.210 --> 00:24:34.789 deepest motivation for her shift ties back directly 00:24:34.789 --> 00:24:37.509 to her work on disability, creating an intellectual 00:24:37.509 --> 00:24:40.369 loop that informed her entire radical philosophy. 00:24:40.710 --> 00:24:43.009 This is the aha moment that connects the two 00:24:43.009 --> 00:24:45.789 narratives. In her essay, Why I Became an IWW, 00:24:46.190 --> 00:24:48.349 she explained that when she was appointed to 00:24:48.349 --> 00:24:50.170 a commission to investigate the conditions of 00:24:50.170 --> 00:24:52.809 the blind, she realized that blindness wasn't 00:24:52.809 --> 00:24:55.849 just a random misfortune or an act of God. So 00:24:55.849 --> 00:24:58.210 what was the real cause, in her view? She realized 00:24:58.210 --> 00:25:01.170 that too much of it was traceable to wrong industrialization. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:03.319 conditions, often caused by the selfishness and 00:25:03.319 --> 00:25:05.519 greed of employers. She wasn't just talking about 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:07.859 accidents. She was talking about systemic poverty. 00:25:08.039 --> 00:25:10.299 And she provided a specific, heartbreaking example 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:13.700 of this connection. She did, she cited. And the 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:16.460 social evil contributed its share. I found that 00:25:16.460 --> 00:25:19.180 poverty drove women to a life of shame that ended 00:25:19.180 --> 00:25:22.599 in blindness. And the social evil. In early 20th 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:24.619 century public health discussions, that was the 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:27.609 common euphemism for prostitution. The sources 00:25:27.609 --> 00:25:30.150 confirm that one of the leading causes of blindness 00:25:30.150 --> 00:25:33.130 at the time was untreated syphilis, an infection 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:35.750 often associated with prostitution, which could 00:25:35.750 --> 00:25:37.990 be passed from mother to child during birth. 00:25:38.269 --> 00:25:40.490 So she saw that preventing blindness wasn't just 00:25:40.490 --> 00:25:43.130 about charity or medicine. It was about ending 00:25:43.130 --> 00:25:45.650 the industrial poverty that forced women into 00:25:45.650 --> 00:25:48.730 situations leading to devastating preventable 00:25:48.730 --> 00:25:51.329 disease. Exactly. She was using her disability 00:25:51.329 --> 00:25:54.029 platform to critique the entire economic structure 00:25:54.029 --> 00:25:58.210 of America. specifically cited the 1912 strike 00:25:58.210 --> 00:26:00.589 of textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:04.130 the bread and roses strike, as a key factor instigating 00:26:04.130 --> 00:26:06.930 her public support for the IWW. And this radical 00:26:06.930 --> 00:26:09.789 stance immediately provoked a furious media backlash. 00:26:10.130 --> 00:26:12.589 The press, which had built her up as an icon 00:26:12.589 --> 00:26:14.650 of resilience, turned on her with remarkable 00:26:14.650 --> 00:26:16.650 speed when her politics became inconvenient. 00:26:17.109 --> 00:26:19.930 It was vicious. The editor of the conservative 00:26:19.930 --> 00:26:22.529 Brooklyn Eagle famously attacked her, calling 00:26:22.529 --> 00:26:24.509 attention to her disabilities and implying that 00:26:24.509 --> 00:26:28.650 she was especially liable to error in her political 00:26:28.650 --> 00:26:30.829 judgment precisely because she was blind and 00:26:30.829 --> 00:26:32.910 deaf. The implication being that her sensory 00:26:32.910 --> 00:26:35.869 limitations made her intellectually unfit for 00:26:35.869 --> 00:26:39.009 political discourse. Yes. And Keller's response 00:26:39.009 --> 00:26:42.180 was immediate and absolutely devastating. She 00:26:42.180 --> 00:26:45.480 used sarcasm brilliantly. She wrote, At that 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:47.660 time, the compliments he paid me were so generous 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:49.900 that I blushed to remember them. But now that 00:26:49.900 --> 00:26:52.019 I have come out for socialism, he reminds me 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:54.380 and the public that I am blind and deaf and especially 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:56.980 liable to error. She just throws it right back 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:59.779 at him. She does. And then she continues, I must 00:26:59.779 --> 00:27:01.779 have shrunken intelligence during the years since 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:04.980 I met him. Oh, ridiculous Brooklyn Eagle. Socially 00:27:04.980 --> 00:27:07.420 blind and deaf, it defends an intolerable system, 00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:09.680 a system that is the cause of much of the physical 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:12.279 blindness and deafness. we are trying to prevent. 00:27:12.519 --> 00:27:15.160 She didn't just defend herself. She diagnosed 00:27:15.160 --> 00:27:17.960 her opponent. She accused the editor and the 00:27:17.960 --> 00:27:20.900 capitalist press of being socially blind and 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:24.259 deaf to the suffering of the working class. That 00:27:24.259 --> 00:27:27.579 exchange is a perfect demonstration of her intellectual 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:30.559 sharpness and her political courage. And a woman 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:33.000 who made such inflammatory political statements, 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:35.559 especially joining an organization as radical 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:39.160 as the IWW, was naturally a target of government 00:27:39.160 --> 00:27:42.539 monitoring during the era of rising anti -socialist 00:27:42.539 --> 00:27:44.819 paranoia. She was a threat. She certainly was. 00:27:45.480 --> 00:27:47.619 The sources confirm that as a result of her advocacy 00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:50.420 and associations, Helen Keller was placed on 00:27:50.420 --> 00:27:53.380 the FBI's watch list. Her files reflected pertinent 00:27:53.380 --> 00:27:55.960 information concerning her dating well into the 00:27:55.960 --> 00:27:58.539 1950s. So the U .S. government took her political 00:27:58.539 --> 00:28:00.619 activities seriously enough to track her for 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:03.259 decades. It's a powerful reminder that the beloved 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:05.440 figure on the coin was once considered a threat 00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:08.220 to the state. Keller's impact extended beyond 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.720 the lecture hall and the protest line. She was 00:28:10.720 --> 00:28:13.259 a major literary figure. She wrote 12 published 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:15.539 books and numerous articles and speeches on wildly 00:28:15.539 --> 00:28:18.119 diverse topics. Ranging from the necessity of 00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:21.259 labor reform to detailed essays on her beloved 00:28:21.259 --> 00:28:24.539 dogs. Her most famous work, The Story of My Life, 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:26.619 written while she was still a college student, 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:30.299 came out in 1903 and recounted her life up to 00:28:30.299 --> 00:28:33.740 age 21. It was an instant classic. And then The 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:35.700 World I Live In came out a few years later. Yes, 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:38.680 in 1908. And that one provided readers with a 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:41.619 unique sensory perspective, offering profound 00:28:41.619 --> 00:28:44.460 insight into how she mapped and experienced her 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:47.000 world through touch and smell. And her political 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:49.319 convictions were published, too. Oh, yeah. Out 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:51.599 of the Dark in 1913 was a clear collection of 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:54.559 essays explicitly focused on socialism, providing 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:57.220 a deep look into her economic and political motivations. 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:00.279 She used her fame to broadcast radical ideas. 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:02.890 But before she became the radical, though. She 00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:05.230 faced a very early controversy regarding one 00:29:05.230 --> 00:29:07.509 of her first writings. That's right. When she 00:29:07.509 --> 00:29:10.769 was just 11, in 1891, she wrote a piece called 00:29:10.769 --> 00:29:13.970 The Frost King. It was later alleged to be plagiarized 00:29:13.970 --> 00:29:16.009 from Margaret Canby's short story, The Frost 00:29:16.009 --> 00:29:18.450 Fairies. And this caused a huge scandal at the 00:29:18.450 --> 00:29:21.190 Perkins Institute. It did. An investigation was 00:29:21.190 --> 00:29:23.250 launched, and the findings suggested she had 00:29:23.250 --> 00:29:27.299 experienced cryptamnesia. It's a phenomenon where 00:29:27.299 --> 00:29:30.119 a memory resurfaces without the context of where 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:32.279 it was originally learned. She had heard the 00:29:32.279 --> 00:29:34.440 story read to her, forgotten the source entirely, 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:36.980 and genuinely believed the story was her own 00:29:36.980 --> 00:29:40.029 creation. It's a fascinating detail that reminds 00:29:40.029 --> 00:29:42.450 us of the unique challenges of source identification 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:46.529 and memory for someone whose primary input was 00:29:46.529 --> 00:29:49.490 through interpretation by others. Let's shift 00:29:49.490 --> 00:29:51.930 to her spiritual life, which underpins much of 00:29:51.930 --> 00:29:55.569 her humanitarian work. She was a dedicated Swedenborgian. 00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:58.440 What exactly does that mean? Swedenborgianism 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:00.940 is based on the teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, 00:30:01.140 --> 00:30:04.200 an 18th century scientist and Christian theologian. 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:07.220 Keller dedicated her spiritual autobiography, 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:11.039 My Religion, from 1927 to this faith. It was 00:30:11.039 --> 00:30:13.380 later reissued as Light in My Darkness. And what 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:14.839 was the core difference in this denomination? 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:17.559 Well, the central tenets include the belief that 00:30:17.559 --> 00:30:19.500 the second coming of Jesus Christ had already 00:30:19.500 --> 00:30:21.319 taken place, not physically but spiritually, 00:30:21.660 --> 00:30:23.680 in the form of a new understanding of Scripture. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:26.859 And Swedenborgians focus heavily on uses, meaning 00:30:26.859 --> 00:30:30.019 practical service to humanity and divine providence. 00:30:30.359 --> 00:30:32.740 Keller described providence as the government 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:35.000 of God's love and wisdom and the creation of 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.259 uses. This focus on practical service strongly 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:40.920 informed her political life. So it emphasizes 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:43.549 doing good work in the world. which aligns perfectly 00:30:43.549 --> 00:30:46.890 with her activism. Precisely. She asserted that 00:30:46.890 --> 00:30:49.470 one specific religious creed didn't matter so 00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:52.069 long as he is faithful to his ideals of right 00:30:52.069 --> 00:30:55.269 living. It speaks to a deeply universalist philosophy 00:30:55.269 --> 00:30:58.230 underlying her Christian socialism. And there's 00:30:58.230 --> 00:31:01.109 that wonderful anecdote. Yes. When she was introduced 00:31:01.109 --> 00:31:03.789 to Christianity, she famously said, I always 00:31:03.789 --> 00:31:05.910 knew he was there, but I didn't know his name. 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:09.099 It suggests a spiritual awareness that preceded 00:31:09.099 --> 00:31:11.380 formal instruction. Before we move to the most 00:31:11.380 --> 00:31:13.420 difficult part of this section, let's highlight 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:16.880 a truly monumental positive achievement in public 00:31:16.880 --> 00:31:19.640 health advocacy completely separate from her 00:31:19.640 --> 00:31:22.779 radical politics. This is a huge unheralded success. 00:31:22.960 --> 00:31:26.420 In 1907, Keller wrote an article titled Unnecessary 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:28.599 Blindness, which was published in the Ladies 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:30.980 Home Journal, one of the most widely read magazines 00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:34.339 in America. And what was the simple but critical 00:31:34.339 --> 00:31:37.240 public health measure she championed? She advocated 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:39.539 for washing the eyes of every newborn baby with 00:31:39.539 --> 00:31:42.380 a disinfectant solution, specifically a silver 00:31:42.380 --> 00:31:44.799 nitrate solution to prevent childhood blindness. 00:31:45.180 --> 00:31:48.539 At the time, infections like neonatal conjunctivitis, 00:31:48.819 --> 00:31:51.140 often caused by the transmission of gonorrhea 00:31:51.140 --> 00:31:53.680 or syphilis during childbirth, were a leading 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:56.799 cause of blindness in infants. And very few doctors 00:31:56.799 --> 00:31:59.180 were doing this. Only a fraction of doctors and 00:31:59.180 --> 00:32:01.240 midwives were using this prophylactic measure. 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:04.299 So because of her fame and the weight of her 00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:06.940 authority on the subject of blindness, her advocacy 00:32:06.940 --> 00:32:09.839 had massive influence. The sources confirmed 00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:12.740 this was a massive public health triumph. Thanks 00:32:12.740 --> 00:32:15.480 directly to Keller's prominent advocacy, this 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:17.700 matter was swiftly and widely adopted across 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:20.359 the United States. She saved the sight of countless 00:32:20.359 --> 00:32:22.200 people who would otherwise have faced the same 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:25.299 challenges she did. That is an undeniable, life 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:27.819 -saving legacy. Now we must address the most 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:29.640 challenging reality presented in the sources. 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:32.400 The fact that Helen Keller supported eugenics. 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:35.119 This is a difficult truth to reconcile with her 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:37.859 otherwise fierce humanitarianism. It is essential 00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:41.400 to present this factually and with context. Eugenics, 00:32:41.480 --> 00:32:43.759 the belief in improving the human race through 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:46.380 selective breeding, was a widespread, though 00:32:46.380 --> 00:32:48.920 deeply flawed, progressive ideology in the early 00:32:48.920 --> 00:32:52.039 20th century. Many respected, otherwise liberal 00:32:52.039 --> 00:32:54.539 figures subscribed to it. And Keller was among 00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:58.039 them. Yes. In 1915, she wrote in favor of refusing 00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:00.720 life -saving medical procedures to infants with 00:33:00.720 --> 00:33:03.480 severe mental impairments or physical deformities. 00:33:03.720 --> 00:33:05.900 She stated her concern that these children's 00:33:05.900 --> 00:33:08.599 lives were not worthwhile and expressed concerns 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:10.700 that they would likely become burdens on society 00:33:10.700 --> 00:33:13.299 or even criminals. She also voiced concern about 00:33:13.299 --> 00:33:15.619 human overpopulation. Which was another common 00:33:15.619 --> 00:33:18.380 eugenic concern. This stance is deeply contradictory 00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:20.720 to her work to prevent blindness and advocate 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:23.420 for the disabled. It creates an almost unbearable 00:33:23.420 --> 00:33:25.859 complexity in her character. It does. She was 00:33:25.859 --> 00:33:28.240 a humanitarian dedicated to empowering the disabled 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.519 community, yet she embraced eugenic concepts 00:33:30.519 --> 00:33:33.259 that we now recognize as profoundly discriminatory 00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:36.160 and dangerous. We have to hold both truths simultaneously. 00:33:36.990 --> 00:33:40.349 Exactly. Her role as a tireless advocate and 00:33:40.349 --> 00:33:42.930 her acceptance of these deeply problematic views 00:33:42.930 --> 00:33:45.569 that were prevalent even among progressives in 00:33:45.569 --> 00:33:48.490 her era. It highlights the difficulty of judging 00:33:48.490 --> 00:33:51.529 historical figures who held views that are incompatible 00:33:51.529 --> 00:33:54.710 with modern values. A necessary, if sobering, 00:33:54.710 --> 00:33:56.970 point to consider before we wrap up her life. 00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:59.940 Following World War II, Keller dedicated herself 00:33:59.940 --> 00:34:03.299 entirely to global advocacy. She leveraged her 00:34:03.299 --> 00:34:05.519 international fame and her passion for humanitarian 00:34:05.519 --> 00:34:09.079 causes, traveling to 35 countries between 1946 00:34:09.079 --> 00:34:12.800 and 1957. That is an immense undertaking, especially 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:14.980 in that era, focusing on the needs of the blind 00:34:14.980 --> 00:34:16.920 community around the world. She was a global 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:19.440 celebrity, meeting every U .S. president from 00:34:19.440 --> 00:34:22.300 Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson. She was 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:24.260 also friends with figures like Charlie Chaplin 00:34:24.260 --> 00:34:28.320 and Mark Twain. tier of intellectual and social 00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:30.619 circles worldwide. She spent her final years 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:33.119 at her beloved home, Arkin Ridge, in Easton, 00:34:33.119 --> 00:34:35.360 Connecticut, following a series of strokes that 00:34:35.360 --> 00:34:38.559 began in 1961 and slowed her relentless pace. 00:34:38.800 --> 00:34:40.860 But the world continued to recognize her immense 00:34:40.860 --> 00:34:44.840 contributions. On September 14th, 1964, President 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:47.699 Lyndon B. Johnson awarded her the highest civilian 00:34:47.699 --> 00:34:50.269 honor in the land. the Presidential Medal of 00:34:50.269 --> 00:34:52.409 Freedom. She was also inducted into the National 00:34:52.409 --> 00:34:55.530 Women's Hall of Fame in 1965 and the Alabama 00:34:55.530 --> 00:34:59.070 Women's Hall of Fame in 1971. Helen Keller died 00:34:59.070 --> 00:35:02.230 peacefully in her sleep on June 1, 1968, at the 00:35:02.230 --> 00:35:05.440 age of 87. Her body was cremated and her ashes 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.380 were buried at the Washington National Cathedral, 00:35:07.659 --> 00:35:10.320 placed alongside her two constant companions, 00:35:10.780 --> 00:35:13.139 Ann Sullivan and Polly Thompson. The symbolism 00:35:13.139 --> 00:35:15.599 of them resting together side by side speaks 00:35:15.599 --> 00:35:17.699 volumes about the interwoven nature of their 00:35:17.699 --> 00:35:20.219 lives. On a sad note related to her enduring 00:35:20.219 --> 00:35:22.920 legacy and the sources we rely on, there was 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:25.559 a tragic loss for historians. Yes, it's a massive 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:27.500 blow to the historical record. Archival material 00:35:27.500 --> 00:35:29.860 related to Keller, owned by the American Foundation 00:35:29.860 --> 00:35:32.519 for the Blind and stored in New York, was unfortunately 00:35:32.710 --> 00:35:34.670 lost when the Twin Towers were destroyed in the 00:35:34.670 --> 00:35:37.170 September 11 attacks. A substantial amount of 00:35:37.170 --> 00:35:39.650 firsthand history about her life and work vanished 00:35:39.650 --> 00:35:42.329 that day. That archival loss makes the surviving 00:35:42.329 --> 00:35:44.630 records, especially those detailing her fiery 00:35:44.630 --> 00:35:47.050 political life, even more precious for historians. 00:35:47.550 --> 00:35:50.699 Culturally, Her story has been told and retold, 00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:52.900 but usually through a very narrow lens. The most 00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:55.940 famous interpretation remains The Miracle Worker, 00:35:55.940 --> 00:35:59.599 which derived from her 1903 autobiography. It 00:35:59.599 --> 00:36:03.159 was popularized by the 1957 teleplay, the 1959 00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:06.780 Broadway play, and of course the 1962 Oscar -winning 00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:09.429 film starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke. The 00:36:09.429 --> 00:36:11.429 narrative of the miracle worker focuses almost 00:36:11.429 --> 00:36:13.929 exclusively on her transition from what the sources 00:36:13.929 --> 00:36:17.190 called almost feral wildness to intellectual 00:36:17.190 --> 00:36:19.510 celebrity. But it cuts off right when her political 00:36:19.510 --> 00:36:22.750 life begins. Exactly. Many early portrayals, 00:36:22.750 --> 00:36:25.710 including the 1919 silent film Deliverance, and 00:36:25.710 --> 00:36:28.510 very little at her radical social activism. The 00:36:28.510 --> 00:36:30.630 focus is exclusively on the personal internal 00:36:30.630 --> 00:36:33.400 triumph. It's worth noting that the 2000 Disney 00:36:33.400 --> 00:36:35.900 remake, at least, briefly acknowledged her activism 00:36:35.900 --> 00:36:38.219 in the credits, attempting to close that historical 00:36:38.219 --> 00:36:41.159 gap. But her impact resonated globally, inspiring 00:36:41.159 --> 00:36:43.539 works outside of the American sphere, such as 00:36:43.539 --> 00:36:46.500 the 2005 Bollywood film Black. She also featured 00:36:46.500 --> 00:36:48.900 in the 1954 Academy Award -winning documentary 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:51.159 Helen Keller and Her Story, which was added to 00:36:51.159 --> 00:36:53.619 the National Film Registry in 2023, confirming 00:36:53.619 --> 00:36:56.480 its lasting cultural value. And posthumously, 00:36:56.639 --> 00:36:59.969 her stature only grew. In 1999, she was listed 00:36:59.969 --> 00:37:02.329 fifth in Gallup's Most Widely Admired People 00:37:02.329 --> 00:37:04.989 of the 20th Century and was named one of Time's 00:37:04.989 --> 00:37:07.570 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century. 00:37:07.809 --> 00:37:09.889 Finally, we should mention her permanent recognition 00:37:09.889 --> 00:37:12.630 in her home state. Her native state of Alabama 00:37:12.630 --> 00:37:16.329 honored her in 2003 on its state quarter, which 00:37:16.329 --> 00:37:18.630 is the only circulating U .S. coin to feature 00:37:18.630 --> 00:37:21.829 Braille. And in 2009, Alabama donated a bronze 00:37:21.829 --> 00:37:24.210 statue of Helen Keller to the National Statuary 00:37:24.210 --> 00:37:27.010 Hall collection in the U .S. Capitol, solidifying 00:37:27.010 --> 00:37:30.110 her place as a state and national icon. But as 00:37:30.110 --> 00:37:32.730 we've seen today, that icon contains multitudes, 00:37:32.849 --> 00:37:36.110 a fierce, complex, revolutionary mind whose legacy 00:37:36.110 --> 00:37:38.530 is far bigger than a single moment at a water 00:37:38.530 --> 00:37:41.050 pump. We began this deep dive believing we knew 00:37:41.050 --> 00:37:42.989 the story, and what we found was a hidden history. 00:37:43.269 --> 00:37:46.010 We traveled from the trauma of her infancy to 00:37:46.010 --> 00:37:50.130 the triumph of the water pump. with the fingerspelling 00:37:50.130 --> 00:37:52.070 socialists. And into her tireless intellectual 00:37:52.070 --> 00:37:55.889 life as a socialist, IWW member and public health 00:37:55.889 --> 00:37:58.849 pioneer. We saw a woman who owed her personal 00:37:58.849 --> 00:38:01.590 success to the incredible advantages of her privileged 00:38:01.590 --> 00:38:04.610 birth, but who leveraged that status to become 00:38:04.610 --> 00:38:07.050 a furious fighter against the industrial oppression 00:38:07.050 --> 00:38:09.510 that paid for it. Her most profound insight was 00:38:09.510 --> 00:38:11.269 connecting the physical blindness she fought 00:38:11.269 --> 00:38:13.829 against to the societal blindness of poverty 00:38:13.829 --> 00:38:16.630 and exploitation. We've uncovered that the historical 00:38:16.630 --> 00:38:19.949 image of Helen Keller is often sanitized, celebrating 00:38:19.949 --> 00:38:22.650 her personal resilience while erasing her radical 00:38:22.650 --> 00:38:25.929 critique of power and poverty. We know she fiercely 00:38:25.929 --> 00:38:32.489 believed, and I quote again, that, quote, Understanding 00:38:32.489 --> 00:38:39.250 this core political belief fundamentally changes 00:38:39.250 --> 00:38:42.050 the way we view her triumph over adversity. Her 00:38:42.050 --> 00:38:44.010 success wasn't just personal. It was meant to 00:38:44.010 --> 00:38:47.079 be a political. So we leave you with this question 00:38:47.079 --> 00:38:50.039 for you to mull over. If Helen Keller, the subject 00:38:50.039 --> 00:38:51.980 of one of America's most beloved inspirational 00:38:51.980 --> 00:38:55.380 stories, was actually a fierce anti -capitalist 00:38:55.380 --> 00:38:58.579 who was monitored by the FBI for decades, what 00:38:58.579 --> 00:39:01.400 other historical figures might have equally complex 00:39:01.400 --> 00:39:04.260 hidden political lives obscured by our desire 00:39:04.260 --> 00:39:06.679 for simple, digestible, inspirational narratives? 00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:09.380 When we sanitize history to celebrate resilience, 00:39:09.800 --> 00:39:12.280 what critical lessons about social justice and 00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:14.760 systemic change do we sacrifice? Something to 00:39:14.760 --> 00:39:17.000 think about long after this deep dive is over.