Not many of us, deaf Americans realized that there was someone in the nation's high office already had interconnected with the Deaf history- John Cabell Breckinridge. He served as a trustee to the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville before elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and Vice President to President James Buchanan.
Senator John McCain would be not very first hearing individual to be elected to the nation's high office, interwoven with the deaf world. Breckingridge is!
Barack Obama would be not the first "black" President of the United States. President Warren Harding repeatedly seen as the real first "black" president in despite of his external appearance of white skin color.
President Harding's great-grandparents were rumored to be African-American. Harding's great grandfather - West Indian black. Harding's great grandmother, Elizabeth Madison also was an African American, too.
Warren Harding repeatedly was taunted as a youth for his "kink-haired" features. Harding never denied his own ancestry. Harding's U.S. Justice Department went out to destroy all the copies of William Chancellor White's books claimed Harding to be racially mixed. Harding was very horrified of the constant lynching of African Americans in the 1920s. He never done anything in an official position to stop such madness with the lynching of black people.
Barack Obama and Warren Harding have much in common like being very popular with women for being the good-looking lad and look much presidential.
Other four Presidents of the United States were also suspected of devired from the ancestry of black people - Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln and Calvin Coolidge.
Lincoln's law partner. William Herndon, wrote the book - "The Hidden Lincoln" to describe Abraham Lincoln having very dark skin and coarse hair. Many political opponents had a field days with political cartoon drawings decepited Lincoln as a Negro and nicknamed him "Abraham Africianus the First". Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks told some people that Abraham was an illegitimate son of black man. No wonder about Lincoln's stepfather disowned Abraham after his mother's untimely death. Lincoln's political opponents especially newspaper editors lambasted President Lincoln as a "baboon".
President Calvin Coolidge's mother had been nicknamed "Moor" which was very common phrase for dark-skinned Caucasians during its time. Coolidge's wife was employed with the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts. The Coolidges were seen with the use of sign language at the White House during their private times to keep the White House staff from eavesdropping on the First Couple.
President Andrew Jackson's mother intermarried the Negro. Andrew Jackson's eldest brother had been sold as a slave in Carolina (before the partings of large state into two states - North and South Carolina).
Interestingly, the U.S. Attorney General and leading Democratic Party presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) did predict for the black president will be elected someday back to the 1961's the Voice of America radio interview.
U.S. Vice President, John C. Breckingridge and President Calvin Coolidge and Jimmy Carter were only hearing individuals in the national high office (President and Vice President of the United States) and directly linked to our Deaf History.
ASLize yours,
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
RLMDEAF blog
