Zerah C. Whipple (1 September 1849 – 12 September 1879) was a

Rogerene The Rogerenes (also known as the Rogerens Quakers or Rogerines) were a religion, religious sect founded in 1674 by John Rogers (1648–1721) in New London, Connecticut, New London, Connecticut. Rogers was imprisoned and spent some years there. He wa ...

American

Christian pacifist Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chr ...

, war tax resister, and developer of educational methods for the deaf. Zerah Colburn Whipple

Peace work

Whipple was publisher of ''The Voice of Peace'' (formerly ''The Bond of Peace'') from 1872 to 1874, the newsletter of the Connecticut Peace Society and later of the

Universal Peace Union The Universal Peace Union was a pacifist organization founded by former members of the American Peace Society in Providence, Rhode Island with the adoption of its constitution on 16 May 1866; it was chartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 9 Apri ...

. In the Summer of 1874, Whipple was jailed by the Ledyard, Connecticut tax collector, Christopher Gallup, for his refusal to pay a military tax (in this case, a fine assessed on men who did not participate in the state militia). After several days, a stranger who had heard about the case paid the tax and costs in order to have Whipple released. His jailing became a cause célèbre in the American peace movement of the time. Whipple's grandfather Jonathan Whipple had also been threatened with arrest many years before, for the same reason (refusal either to serve in or pay a fine to the militia, for reasons of conscientious objection to war), but in his case the threat was not carried through.

Work with the deaf

Whipple was known for his work with the deaf. He was inspired by his grandfather who had patiently taught his deaf son (Zerah's uncle) to speak and lip-read proficiently. Zerah's method emphasized lip-reading and learning to speak by using tactile and visible feedback, something he called the “Pure Oral Method” to distinguish it from attempts to teach sign language to the deaf, which he felt ghettoized their speech. Whipple also developed a phonetic alphabet for the deaf to use when learning pronunciation. The letters in this alphabet were schematic representations of the position and motion of the vocal organs when pronouncing the sound. Whipple's school operated until 1980, originally as “Whipple Home School for Deaf Mutes”, then “Mystic Oral School”, and later as “Mystic Educational Center.”

Miscellaneous

In 1873, Whipple unsuccessfully petitioned U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant to commute the death sentences of prisoners captured in the Modoc War.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whipple, Zerah Colburn 1849 births 1879 deaths American Christian pacifists American tax resisters Mystic, Connecticut Phoneticians