Have you ever seen someone on the street, on the bus, or in a store using their hands to communicate?

This is called sign language and no it's not universal. Sorry! If you try to use American Sign Language (ASL) in England, I can assure you that there will be mass pandemonium. British Sign Language (BSL) is completely different than ASL which is used primarily in America and parts of Canada. 

In short, ASL came from a mix of French Sign Language (LSF) and Martha's Vineyard Sign Language. If you travel to almost any country in the world and meet a Deaf person there, odds are they use a different signed language. Even if they use ASL, their dialect might be a tad different. That's one of the beauties of sign language. We have dialects like English speakers have. If you go to Georgia, New York, or Minnesota - they all have accents right? The same is true within sign languages across the globe. 

ASL, like any sign language, has its own grammar and structure to it that is unique. It is not simply English on the hands. No, no, no! This is why we caution people about SIM-COM (signing and talking at the same time) -- it doesn't work well because of the grammar. 

The reason why ASL is based on LSF is because of a man by the name of Laurent Clerc. Thomas Gallaudet, an American, wanted to teach his neighbor's daughter who was deaf, Alice Cogswell but had no idea where to begin. So through his search, he found Laurent Clerc and asked him to come to America to help him teach deaf children in America. He agreed and together they developed ASL and founded the American School for the Deaf (ASD) which today resides in West Hartford, CT.

There are tons of videos on YouTube that dive into the history of ASL, ASD, and other parts of Deaf history. Here is one about the Deaf community on Martha's Vineyard to get you started: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ioi7COpA7A&t=53s