“There was no period of my life that was devoted to play,” Booker T. Washington
recalled in his autobiography ‘Up from Slavery’ (676-77). When I read the excerpt, within The
Norton Anthology of American Literature, I found myself to be extremely sympathetic. As a
child I could not imagine doing manual labor jobs from sun up until sun down without having
play as an incentive. Being educated about slavery throughout my time in grade school and
college, I can recall the terrible treatment and labor the slaves went through. I assumed the
children of the slaves spent their time after the sun went down or when the typical child chores
were completed playing games they created with each other. I found Booker T. Washington’s
story to be enlightening,
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This story gave me a personal
morale boost. Booker T. Washington came from living on a dirt floor in rags as a child slave,
with no real hope for a future other than slavery. Instead of allowing slavery to deprive him, he
rose above the doubt and became an educated and successful man, as the founder of Tuskegee
Institute, and a major American author.
“Cast down your bucket where you are, cast it down in making friends in every manly
way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded.” Booker Taliaferro Washington came
from nothing, a slave child who worked on a plantation in Hale’s Ford, VA (“Up from Slavery”
675). When the Emancipation Proclamation occurred, Washington made his way through school
with honors, and eventually was selected in 1881 as the principal for the Tuskegee Institute in
Alabama. At the time of Mr. Washington’s arrival the school of Tuskegee was completely in
theory. Washington spent all his time and effort to make the school a permanent success
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‘The Story of the Negro’ was Booker T.
Washington’s second novel, which went into the history of the colored man from Africa to
America. “No matter how obscure their origin, each will feel a special interest in the people
whose fortunes he or she has shared, and a special sympathy with all that people have lived, and
suffered, and achieved” (5). These novels are historical in nature and have impacted lives of
some, and influenced others. “Washington’s influence extended beyond uplift and
accommodationism,” as stated by Stephen Recken (55). Booker’s ability to reach an audience
that was made up of primarily White American folk and speak with such eloquence, was an
incredible feat and accomplishment. He was able to bridge the gap between the black and white
communities, hoping to create a more peaceful, and equal multi-race nation.
Mr. Washington had a following of supporters and critics. W.E.B. Du Bois was
“Washington’s greatest critic” (Recken 67). While Du Bois criticized the attitude and follow
through of Washington’s work, the outcome he wanted was similar. “This was an impossible
assumption of power. No one voice ever did or ever can speak for ten million” (Du Bois 374).
The book, Up From Slavery, written by Booker Taliaferro Washington, profoundly touched me when I read it. Washington overcame many obstacles throughout his life. He became perhaps the most prominent black leader of his time. Booker T. Washington belived that African Americans could gain equality by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights.
“In my bag here, I have a fool proof method for controlling black slaves. I guarantee every one of you that if installed correctly, it will control the slaves for at least 300 years. (finalcall.com news, 2009)” In the letter he said “I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves; and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust, and envy for control purposes.”
As word of Carver's work at Tuskegee spread across the world, he received many invitations to work or teach at better-equipped, higher-paying institutions but decided to remain at Tuskegee, where he could be of greatest service to his fellow African Americans in the South. Carver epitomized Booker T. Washington's philosophy of black solidarity and self-reliance. Born a slave, Carver worked hard among his own people, lived modestly, and avoided confronting racial issues. For these reasons Carver, like Booker T. Washington, became an icon for white Americans.
The readings Booker T. Washington, The “Atlanta Compromise” and “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” were both very interesting to me. The “Atlanta Compromise” was the actual speech Booker T. Washington gave to a majority white crowd asking for support for vocational/technical training and education. His focus on the speech was for the Black community to use their skills to earn a living and focus more on that than race relations. He was encouraging the black community to gain financial security and be open to getting the necessary tools to be their own providers.
Douglass will ultimately experience many more of these awful crimes to humanity, but this first experience changed his entire view of the world. If he didn’t fear his slave master’s before, then he certainly did at this point. Life for him wouldn’t be happy and free, but cruel and harsh, much like the beating of Aunt Hester. Clearly slavery was already real at that time in the 19th century, but this is the m...
Booker T. Washington was one of the most well-known African American educators of all time. Lessons from his life recordings and novelistic writings are still being talked and learned about today. His ideas of the accommodation of the Negro people and the instillation of a good work ethic into every student are opposed, though, by some well-known critics of both past and current times. They state their cases by claiming the Negro’s should not have stayed quiet and worked their way to wear they did, they should have demanded equal treatment from the southern whites and claimed what was previously promised to them. Also, they state that Washington did not really care about equality or respect, but about a status boost in his own life. Both arguments presented by Washington and his critics are equally valid when looked at in context, but When Mr. Booker gave his speech at the Atlanta Acquisition, he was more-so correct in his belief of accommodation. His opinions concerning that hard work achieved success and respect and that demanding requests does not give immediate results were more rational, practical, and realistic than others outcries of immediate gratification and popularity contests.
Booker T. Washington was a great leader. He was all for helping the black community become stronger. His goal was very hard to achieve considering the period in which he lived. America, during Washington's time was under reconstruction. The Civil War was over and blacks were, by law, equal to any other human being. Slavery was abolished and many southerners had a problem with that. To many whites, black people didn't deserve and weren't intellectually "ready" for such freedoms. The South had such a hard time accepting it that Union troops were stationed in southern states who couldn't cooperate. Booker T. Washington is a prime example to southerners who think that blacks can amount to nothing. In my paper I will talk to you about the many accomplishments he has made and the hardships that were attached to his achievements. As always a lot of people tried to pull Booker down. Some were even of the same race as Mr. Washington. But along the way a lot people helped Booker. People who he helped, his family, his community, and others who felt he was just a really great guy.
W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two very influential leaders in the black community during the late 19th century, early 20th century. However, they both had different views on improvement of social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.E.B. Du Bois on the other hand, wanted a more aggressive strategy. He studied at Fisk University in Tennessee and the University of Berlin before he went on to study at Harvard. He then took a low paying research job at the University of Pennsylvania, using a new discipline of sociology which emphasized factual observation in the field to study the condition of blacks. The first study of the effect of urban life on blacks, it cited a wealth of statistics, all suggesting that crime in the ward stemmed not from inborn degeneracy but from the environment in which blacks lived. Change the environment, and people would change too; education was a good way to go about it. The different strategies offered by W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans were education, developing economic skills, and insisting on things continually such as the right to vote. ...
There were three different types of social or slave classes. The first class consisted of the city slaves, who were primarily used as domestic labor. They worked around the houses or mansions of their wealthy masters; they were called the aristocrat slaves. The first class slaves could read and write, for they quickly noticed the language in the home setting (Dailylife). The second class was the town slaves. They were not just domestic slaves of the common citizen, but also skilled labor. They worked as mechanics, laborers, washwomen, etc. They, likewise, were somewhat educated. They were considered every freedman’s right hand man. In addition, they were sometimes hired and paid for their work. The payment was little, but a step toward abolishment. The final and largest slave class consisted of the field or rural slaves. They had little to no education and were primarily used as unskilled manual laborers. They were far below the two upper classes (Commager 467-469). The conditions they lived in were horrible, and their treatment was brutal (Boston; Conditions).
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were both pioneers in striving to obtain equality for blacks, yet their ways of achieving this equality were completely different. W.E.B. Du Bois is the more celebrated figure today since he had the better method because it didn’t give the whites any power, and his method was intended to achieve a more noble goal than Washington’s. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. Like many slaves at that time, historians are not sure of the exact place or date of his birth (Washington, Up From Slavery 7). Washington had absolutely no schooling while he was a slave; he received all his education after he was set free.... ...
...s with their words, whether it be oration or writing. They caused blacks to be proud of who and what they were, and it also showed them that they could do more. These two men squashed the notion that Booker T. Washington spoke of in his speech in Atlanta, Georgia on September 18, 1895, where he said that blacks must accept their inferior role.
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
This book was about Booker T Washington who was a slave on a plantation in Virginia until he was nine years old. His autobiography offers readers a look into his life as a young child. Simple pleasures, such as eating with a fork, sleeping in a bed, and wearing comfortable clothing, were unavailable to Washington and his family. His brief glimpses into a schoolhouse were all it took to make him long for a chance to study and learn. Readers will enjoy the straightforward and strong voice Washington uses to tell his story. The book document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with many new buildings. In the final chapters of, it Washington describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality.
Booker T. Washington was a young black male born into the shackles of Southern slavery. With the Union victory in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Washington’s family and blacks in the United States found hope in a new opportunity, freedom. Washington saw this freedom as an opportunity to pursue a practical education. Through perseverance and good fortunes, Washington was able to attain that education at Hampton National Institute. At Hampton, his experiences and beliefs in industrial education contributed to his successful foundation at the Tuskegee Institute. The institute went on to become the beacon of light for African American education in the South. Booker T. Washington was an influential voice in the African American community following the Civil War. In his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Washington outlines his personal accounts of his life, achievements, and struggles. In the autobiography, Washington fails to address the struggle of blacks during Reconstruction to escape the southern stigma of African Americans only being useful for labor. However, Washington argues that blacks should attain an industrial education that enables them to find employment through meeting the economic needs of the South, obtaining moral character and intelligence, and embracing practical labor. His arguments are supported through his personal accounts as a student at Hampton Institute and as an administrator at the Tuskegee Institute. Washington’s autobiography is a great source of insight into the black education debate following Reconstruction.
Slaves would take on the tasks of motherhood, some would even breast feed the babies. The slaves also worked the fields and helped the mother with other household duties, such as making clothes (The Study of Women, online). Education Boys will begin school at age seven. They were also given paid agogos, a slave that accompanied them everywhere. The paid adolescents taught the boy manners, punished him when he did wrong, and even sat through classes with the boy to make sure he did his work.