"Which not by the Light of Knowledge can Dispel:" Experiencing Blindness in Late Nineteenth-Century North America

This dissertation contributes to knowledge by expanding our understanding of the way that blindness was defined and experienced in the nineteenth century. Many of our modern ideas of blindness are still shaped by ideas of helplessness and dependency that were described and defined by schools for the blind during their establishment in the late nineteenth century. These schools relied on fundraising that required the posterchild of blindness to be pathetic and helpless without the interventions of school officials and dedicated separate schools for the blind. However, examining the life experiences of blind people counteracts some of this narrative. While those who wrote autobiographies were a minority, they reflect an understanding and lived experience of blindness that is not described in the work of institutions. By examining these autobiographies next to the main narratives of schools for the blind, we raise questions about the effectiveness of dedicated schooling for the blind in the nineteenth century, interrogating and complicating their narratives. By looking at these documents written by the blind themselves, this dissertation also brings to light the community of blind children and adults that has not been well-examined by previous studies.