The Deaf: Their Position in Society and the Provision for Their Education in the United States

This early 20th century sociological study stands as a remarkable window into American attitudes toward deafness during a pivotal era. Harry Best undertook comprehensive research across schools, organizations, and government records to document exactly where deaf individuals stood in American society and what provisions existed for their education. The book tackles an uncomfortable truth of its era: the widespread confusion between deafness and the ability to speak, and how this conflation shaped everything from public perception to legislative policy. Best's careful differentiation between "deaf" and "dumb" reveals both the medical understanding of his time and the social machinery that determined how deaf people were seen and treated. For historians, sociologists, and anyone interested in the evolution of disability in America, this work offers invaluable primary source material. It captures a moment when the very foundations of deaf education and social acceptance were being debated, shaped, and institutionalized.