Booker T Washington Research Paper

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.

Booker T. Washington believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. That it was best to concentrate on improving their economic skills and the quality of their character. The burden of improvement resting squarely on the shoulders of the black man. Eventually they would earn the respect and love of the white man, and civil and political rights would be accrued as a matter of course. This was a very non-threatening and popular idea with a lot of whites.

Booker T Washington was one of the best advocates in his time. Growing up in slavery and out coming the horrifying struggles of the 1870’s was a great effort. Born in the era were black people were like flies he found a determination to succeed and discovered many powers in life.

Washington was often looked at as an “Uncle Tom” because of the things he did, such as advising blacks to remain in the South and to avoid politics and protest in favor of economic self-help and industrial education. He eventually became a powerful political boss, friend of white businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, and advisor of some presidents. Washington publicly accepted without protest racial segregation and voting discrimination, but secretly financed and directed many court suits against such proscriptions of civil rights. To Washington his ideas was obvious and clear, by earning the respect of whites they would either help blacks or deal with their crime against humanity that will eventually bring them down.

and got a job as a waiter. Soon after this period of time he got a

Booker T. Washington’s philosophy and actions betrayed the interests of African Americans because he was more interested on the blacks getting educated and getting the respect of the white authorities, instead of worrying on getting their political and social equality right away, which was the main interest of the African Americans. In “The Atlanta Exposition Address”, Washington said that blacks would sacrifice their civil rights and social equality for the time being, as long as whites guaranteed that they would receive industrial education and jobs because he believed that in order to fully obtain equality, the blacks should improve themselves. “It is at the bottom of

On September 18, 1895, an African-American spokesman and leader Booker T. Washington spoke in the front of thousands of whites at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. His famous “Atlanta Compromise” was one of the most influential speeches in American. regardless Washington soothed his listeners’ concerns about the what they said “uppity” blacks. Mr. Washington was a very well-known black educator. Even though he was born into slavery he strongly felt and believed that racism would in fact end once the blacks put effort into labor skills and proved themselves to society. He pressured industrial education for African-Americans so that they would gain respect from the whites. Washington often was good for ignoring discrimination because it didn’t phase him. But he was so nervous

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were both highly regarded as early advocates for equality for African American civil rights post emancipation and are highly regarded as the beginning founding fathers of the African American progression although both are noted for having different methodologies on how the goals should be accomplished.

These people were following in the footsteps of an earlier generation. Long before Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, people like Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington took on racism to both heckles and cheers. Their message was simple: if the U.S. Constitution failed for one race, it would fail for everyone.

Washington was powerful and influential in both the black and white communities. He was a confidential advisor to President Roosevelt and for years, presidential political appointments of African-Americans were cleared through him. By the last years of his life Washington began speaking

At Tuskegee University, which he founded, he pushed for students to learn tangible crafts, such as industrial and farming skills. He wanted his students to acquire the virtues of perseverance, innovativeness, and frugality so that they could grow as individuals and realize their self-worth. Essentially, these virtues, in addition to economic prosperity, proved to white people in the south that blacks could be valuable members of society.

Booker T. Washington was born, into slavery, on April 5th, 1856 in Hale’s Ford, Virginia. He was nine years old when his family was emancipated, and they moved to West Virginia. It wasn’t until after he moved that he began to receive an education. He eventually graduated from the Hampton Institute; he worked through the time he was in school in order to pay for his education. He went on to later become the leader of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama – a position he held until the day he died. He made huge contributions in the African-American community, and was one of their strongest leaders in the fight for their rights. He advocated strongly for the right to education and for social issues.

The debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois involve people at all levels of the black community. It shaped the way that black leaders discussed race, and its opened new opportunities for poor blacks in both the North and South. These two places in particular because that’s where the two were born. W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Massachusetts in 1868. He attended racially integrated elementary and high schools and went off to Fiske College in Tennessee at age 16 on a scholarship. Du Bois completed his formal education at Harvard with a Ph.D. in history. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia in 1856. Early on in his life, he developed a thirst for reading and learning. After attending an elementary school for African-American children, Washington walked 500 miles to enroll in

Booker T. Washington was a leader who saw power and success in passiveness and patience. He believed that African Americans would attain their rights in time through hard work, improved education and self-help. His journey from slave to leader was evidence that the black race was highly capable of helping themselves reach a degree of success and he was ultimately convinced

Booker learned at an early age the importance of doing things for himself. Another story from the book shows what helped to build Booker's character. While at school he noticed that all of the people were wearing caps. When he confronted his mother about this she explained they could not afford to buy him a store bought cap. But she told him that she would work something out. Washington's mother took two old pieces of cloth and sewed them together to make him a cap. For the rest of his life, he would remember that cap as an important lesson in his life. Washington states: The lesson that my mother taught me in this has always remained with me, and I have tried as best I could to teach it to others. I have always felt proud, whenever I think of the incident, that my mother had the strength of character enough not to be led into the temptation of seeming to be that of which she is not-of trying to impress my schoolmates and others with the fact that she was able to buy me a "store hat" when she was not.Later, the young Washington took a job at the home of a Mrs. Ruffiner as a house servant. Many boys before him, in the same job, lasted had only a few weeks because of her demands. Ruffiner was very strict and expected the best out of the boys that worked for her. She demanded that they be clean and well behaved. This stayed with Booker for the rest of his life. He notes, "Even to this day I never seen bits of paper scattered