ABSTRACT
Anne Sullivan Macy and Franklin Benjamin Sanborn, along with Helen Keller, were remarkable figures in history. Though it is true that much of her own educational, literary, and political thinking never became famous, Anne Sullivan Macy’s accomplishments were enough to lead to several awards, her status as the first woman buried in the National Cathedral in Washington, and her being named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2003. In many ways, the “miracle worker” figure, as of now, after Keller has been dead for four decades, may perhaps be transcending the fame of Keller herself. Of course, this is not to deny that Helen Keller remains America’s most famous disabled person and a heroine to millions. Sanborn has certainly lost some of the renown he had at the time, but he is well known to students of abolitionism and the lead-up to the Civil War, of Transcendentalism, and of social welfare history. While he was alive, there were few people who were literate or politically involved who would not have known who Sanborn was.
