There are many obstacles and a lot of discrimination that deaf people faced, and that was especially true in the 1800's.  Gallaudet University, established in 1864, was the world's first university for the deaf and hard of hearing students.  Even though the US government supported the established of the university, there were still widespread prejudices towards the deaf and hard of hearing.  Major disagreements in regards to educating deaf children emerged:  the manual approach (teaching sign language ) and the oral approach (development of speech). 

In 1880, there was a conference in Milan, Italy for educators of the deaf.  The repercussions of this meeting shook up the deaf community:  it was determined that deaf people were not competent and not qualified enough to be educators.  The oppression of sign language was present and the oral approach was favored.  Luckily, Gallaudet University President Edward Gallaudet paid no attention to the prejudices and sign language, Deaf culture and the Deaf themselves flourished at the university.

Resources:

Gallaudet University, The Search for a New President.  Retrieved July 1, 2009 from Deaf President Now.  Web site:  http://pr.gallaudet.edu/dpn/ISSUES/history/newhistory4.html

Kristen Mounts Thompson

July 1, 2009