Booker T. Washington was known as the “Moses of his race” (448). Washington desired for African Americans to be able to enter and integrate with the white community peacefully. How did he propose this should happen? He promoted an educational program that focused on vocational training. He became the first principal of the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee Institute trained African Americans in different agricultural and mechanical jobs. Washington desired to impart Christian virtues in the students of Tuskegee Institute. He also encouraged the students to be disciplined. In his speech the “Atlanta Compromise,” he proposed that African Americans should suspend their pursuit for equal rights. Instead, they should focus their energy and attention on gaining “low-level …show more content…
Washington did not believe in creating laws and policies that would demand that all African Americans be treated a certain way; rather, he believed that people should earn the rights and rewards that they deserve (448). Washington’s proposal created a “middle ground.” African Americans would work in order to improve and advance themselves, but whites would also appropriately value their endeavors. “Up from Slavery” was written with a simple writing style, and its tone is optimistic. Ultimately, he believed that his people could succeed if they worked hard. The value of education and the dignity of work are prevalent themes in “Up from Slavery.” In “Up from Slavery,” he says, “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. Cast it down in agriculture, mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions” (450). He believed that as African Americans worked in order to improve themselves, progress would be
Washington used his famous “Cast Down Your Bucket” metaphor. It is about two vessels, one friendly and one distressed, that are at sea. The crew of the distressed vessel is dying of thirst and pleading for fresh water to be sent by the friendly vessel. The friendly vessel’s response every time they plea is “Cast down your buckets where you are.” Finally after the fourth plea the captain of the distressed vessel listens and casts down his bucket, only to have it fill with fresh water. The distressed vessel is the African American race frantically calling out for the water, or equality in this case. They do not realize that what they seek is right in front of them, and it can be achieved by simply using the assets they have already acquire and listening to the guidance from the friendly vessel, or the South. After giving this example, Washington says this, “To those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbor, I would say: ‘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,” (Washington 106). For there to be equality between the two races each must work hard for it. Blacks in his eyes must stop “playing the victim” and work to achieve
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’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
Booker T. Washington is one of the most respected and influential African American figures in American history, Mr. Washington was born into slavery and was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. His peaceful personality along with his exceptional education in many different studies turned him into a well-rounded individual. Washington wanted blacks and whites to become partners and strive for both races to succeed. He delivered his most famous speech in 1895 known as the “Atlanta Compromise”. In Atlanta Georgia, Mr. Washington expresses himself with exceptional rhetoric and tone throughout his speech. He states that African Americans should take benefit of what they know and endeavor
In Booker T. Washington’s writing, “Up from Slavery,” he discusses a controversial topic of slavery. The audience is to the rich white people and his own race. In this writing, he attempts to inform people of his race and other minorities the importance of learning a trade to be able to work from the bottom to the top. He believes that if minorities can work from the bottom and do physical labor, they can eventually work their way to the top. Washington even says they can be separate like fingers, but still together like a hand. Washington discusses the importance of vocational education, slavery, and how to attain success. With this, we can see how Booker T. Washington uses ethos and logos to persuade his audience.
Born a slave on a Virginia farm, Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915) rose to become one of the most influential African-American intellectuals of the late 19th century. He was nine years old when the Civil War ended. He worked hard as a young child and at 16, he left home to attend Hampton Institute. One of the few black high schools in the South, it focused on industrial and agricultural training while maintaining an extremely structured curriculum that stressed discipline and high moral character. Washington thrived in that environment. He eventually went on to head a new school in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute was devoted to the training of black teachers, farmers, and skilled workers. Under his
During Reconstruction and the years to follow, the dynamic between blacks and whites evolved. , the dynamic between blacks and southern whNewly free blacks began to seek opportunities forout education, employment, and other endeavors – opportunities that they could not access while enslaved. Meanwhile, southern whites struggled to come to terms with thea major alterationchange in the way that their homes, businesses, and lives were runoperated. With the roles of whites and blacks alteredreoriented, the ways in which the two groups interacted changed as well – the South was truly “reconstructed”. Booker T. Washington lived through this time, becoming famousrenowned for his conservative navigation of the evolving racial climate and hisremembered for his historic and became famous for a number of achievements. Among Washington’s enduring most known accomplishments illustrious timeless were his writing, his strong belief in a good work ethic, and perhaps most importantly, his founding of Tuskegee Institute, now called Tuskegee University. Tuskegee Institute, a school for newly free blacks, was different than other black schools blacks because Washington implemented a technical curriculum, as opposed to a classic or liberal arts education. This alternative education was a deliberate choice by Washington, who believed that a technical education would serve blacks better than a liberal arts education. Booker T. Washington 's establishment of a school for technical education was
I enjoyed reading Up From Slavery by Booker T Washington. This autobiography retells the life story of a man who started life as a slave and became a famous figure in American history. He also lived a very interesting life. For example, Booker T Washington met multiple presidents. He worked diligently and learned the importance of hard work. In order to afford to study at the Hampton Institute, he worked as a janitor. Booker T Washington had to rise from poverty and work diligently in order to get an education and establish a school for African Americans without funds or a large enough property. He also felt tremendous pressure while trying to prove that African Americans were capable of securing their own education. He funded most
Racial discrimination, political, social and economic inequality during the late 19th century and early 20th century led various leaders within the black community to rise up and address the appalling circumstances that African Americans were forced to endure. Among these leaders were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois whom possessed analogous desires as it pertained to the advancement and upliftment of the black race. While both individuals were fighting for the same cause and purpose they embraced contrary ideologies and approaches to African American struggle. In Booker T. Washington’s book “Up from Slavery” African Americans were encouraged to be passive and focus on vocational education whereas in W.E.B. DuBois book “The Souls of Black Folk”, African Americans were encouraged to fight for their merited rights and focus on academic education. However, although Washington was convinced that his ideologies would sincerely uplift the black race, they actually proved to be detrimental, leaving DuBois ideology to be the most reasonable and appropriate solution for the advancement of the black race.
The book “Up from slavery” was an absolute great choice to read over spring break as this book was an extensive review that included extra details from the research about the dating assignment we had done not too long ago in class. Even though it wasn’t from an exact first person view, the biography was still able to keep it an interesting topic. Slavery seems to always have been something that caught my attention in school, because it’s a topic that carries onto today with people still dealing with racial difficulties.
The autobiography of Booker T. Washing titled Up From Slavery is a rich narrative of the man's life from slavery to one of the founders of the Tuskegee Institute. The book takes us through one of the most dynamic periods in this country's history, especially African Americans. I am very interested in the period following the Civil War and especially in the transformation of African Americans from slaves to freemen. Up From Slavery provides a great deal of information on this time period and helped me to better understand the transition. Up From Slavery provided a narrative on Washington's life, as well as his views on education and integration of African Americans. All though this book was
In “Up From Slavery” Booker T. Washington is stressing the importance of unifying the races by informing the public on the important role the Negro race play in society. The narrator thanks the people who made his speech possible because “it is recognition that will do more to cement the friendship of the two races” (167). He uses the metaphor of a lost ship to illustrate how vital the Negro race is to the success of the United States. The races can exist in harmony by helping each other for the greater good of society. He speaks directly to the white race, telling them that he gives them the same speech as he gives his own race when he says that it is necessary to help others. It is important to ask for help when needed because help will
Booker T. Washington was one of the first African-American to have been invited to give a speech to white Southern. His speech commonly referred to as Atlanta Compromise raised the question of whether the blacks should focus on the accumulation of economic security or request their immediate rights as American citizens. Washington argued that the African American had been offered too much too soon and seem to have failed (Harlan, 1974, p. 583 par 2).
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
On Up from Slavery, Booker T. Washington argues that “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important