The white cane works both, as a tool for the blind as well as a symbol.  Throughout history, the cane, staff, and stick have existed as traveling aids for the blind and  visually impaired. Dating back to biblical times records show that a shepherd's staff was used as a tool for solitary travel.  The blind used such tools to alert them to obstacles in their path.   For centuries, the "cane"  was used merely as a tool for travel and it was not until the twentieth century that the cane, as we know it today, was promoted for use by the blind as a symbol to alert others to the fact that an individual was blind.

This new role for the white cane had its origins in the decades between the two World Wars, beginning in Europe and then spreading to North America. James Biggs of Bristol claimed to have invented the white cane in 1921. After an accident claimed his sight, the artist had to readjust to his environment.  Feeling threatened by increased motor vehicle traffic  around his home, Biggs decided to paint his walking stick white to make himself more visible to motorists.  It was not however until ten years later the white cane established its presence in society.

In February 1931, Guilly d'Herbemont launched a scheme for a national white stick movement for blind people in France.  The campaign was reported in British newspapers leading to a similar scheme being sponsored by rotary clubs throughout the United Kingdom.  In May 1931 the BBC suggested in its radio broadcasts that  blind individuals might be provided with a white stick, which would become universally recognized as a  symbol indicating that somebody was blind or visually impaired.  In North America the introduction of the white cane has been attributed to the Lion's Clubs International. In  1930, a Lion's Club member watched as a blind man attempted to make his way across a busy street using a  black cane.  With the realization that the black cane was barely visible to motorists, the Lion's Club decided  to paint the cane white to increase its visibility to oncoming motorists.  In 1931, the Lion's Club  International began a national program promoting the use of white canes for persons who are blind.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, blind persons had walked with their canes held diagonally in a fixed  position, and the role of the white cane took on a symbolic role as an identifier.  But when the blind veterans of World War II returned to America, the form and the use of the white cane was further altered in  an attempt to help return veterans to participatory lifestyles at home.  Doctor Richard Hoover developed the  "long cane" or "Hoover" method of cane travel. These white canes are designed to be used as mobility  devices and returned the cane to its original role as a tool for mobility, but maintained the symbolic role as  an identifier of blind independence.  During this period, the white cane began to make its way into government policy as a symbol for the blind.

The first special White Cane Ordinance was passed in December 1930 in Peoria, Illinois.  It granted blind  pedestrians protections and the right-of-way while carrying a white cane.  In 1935, Michigan began  promoting the white cane as a visible symbol for the blind.  On February 25, 1936, ordinance was passed  for the City of Detroit recognizing the white cane. To promote the new ordinance, a demonstration was  held at City Hall where the blind and visually impaired were presented with white canes. The following  year, Donald Schuur wrote the provision of a bill and had it proposed in the State Legislature.

The proposal gave the carrier of the White Cane protection while traveling on the streets of Michigan. Governor Frank  Murphy signed the bill into law in March 1937.  During the early 1960's, several state organizations and rehabilitation agencies serving the blind and  visually impaired citizens of the United States urged Congress to proclaim October 15 of each year to be White Cane Safety Day in all fifty states.  This event marked a climatic moment in the long campaign of  the organized blind movement to gain state as well as national recognition for the white cane.  On October  6, 1964, a joint resolution of the Congress, HR 753, was signed into law authorizing the President of the  United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day".  The resolution read  "Resolved by the Senate and HR. that the President is hereby authorized to issue annually a proclamation designating October 15 as White Cane Safety Day and calling upon the people of the United States to  observe such a day with appropriate ceremonies and activities."  Within hours of passage of the  congressional resolution, President Lyndon B. Johnson went down in history as the first to proclaim October 15, as White Cane Safety Day.