Rhetorical Analysis Of The Atlanta Compromise Address

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were extremely different people who had extremely different ideas on how to best tackle racism in America. Booker T. Washington preferred the passive approach, and often told African Americans that they were responsible for amending racism. In his Atlanta Compromise Speech, Booker T. stated “Our greatest danger is that in the great leap from slavery to freedom we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands, and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labour, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life… It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities.” As Booker T. stated later in his Atlanta Compromise speech, “The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing… It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is

Booker T. Washington's beliefs surrounding the improvement of African Americans are shown in his "Atlanta

Washington truly was an incredible man. He was not put down by the difficulties he encountered but instead rose to the occasion. He was someone who worked hard for everything he had despite trials and tribulation. His speeches and testaments for equality, such as “The Atlanta Compromise,” highlighted the need and importance for cooperation and lasting friendship between the African American and Southern white races. These ideals would improve, and later help resolve, America’s racial issues like segregation. In conclusion, Booker T. Washington's “Atlanta Compromise” speech is one of the most important speeches in American History when it came to creating opportunity for equality between African American and Southern white

Washington is remembered chiefly for this “Atlanta Compromise” address. In this speech, he called on white America to provide jobs and industrial-agricultural education for Negroes. In exchange,

Booker T. Washington was a man who not only cared for himself but for the African-American Race. Washington intended to persuade African-Americans to empower themselves and to show positivity with whites. “...There are many instances of Negro tenderly caring for their former masters and mistresses (Washington, pg.7).’’ Another piece of evidence that Washington stated is, “...cast down your buckets. (Washington, pg.219). He wanted white people to hire African-Americans”. He did well empower the African-American race. “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem…It is at the bottom we must begin and not

It was during the Recreation Period when the rights of Blacks were not the same as Whites and this made the lives of the Black difficult. Segregation was very common at the time. It affected many in the black society, including Booker T. Washington. He was a major contributor to the end of segregation, and in 1895, he delivered “The Atlanta Compromise Speech.” He believed that with the hard work of the Blacks, that they would earn and gain the respect of the esteemed whites. The main idea of “The Atlanta Compromise Speech” was that Blacks should obtain social responsibility and to achieve this, work from the bottom to top. Booker T. Washington’s speech was given to persuade the citizens to end the idea of segregation and promote cooperation between Blacks and Whites during the Recreation Period. The speech was also given to make an impact on how the people view society and the actions the citizens need to take. He used rhetorical strategies to make his speech argumentative. He focused on each strategy, and effectively configured his speech which made it effective for the audience.

Seven score and fourteen years ago, following the Battle of Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln stood in front of a crowd of approximately 1,500 people and gave a short speech. His audience included surviving Union soldiers, families of those who perished, and some politicians, all of whom gathered to consecrate the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address, although only 271 words and lasting a mere two minutes, is one of the most well-known speeches in American history. In it, Lincoln argues that though he would like to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers, there is no way to “add or detract” from the consecration those men gave with their blood (Lincoln). In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln uses the stasis forms of evaluation and proposal to convince his audience of the importance of the fallen soldiers. Using the rhetorical appeals of pathos, appealing to emotions of the distressed soldiers, ethos, catching the attention of his audience with both his diction and his position granting him credibility, and logos, structuring his speech in such a way as to draw in his audience, he successfully resolves his constraints while continually surrounding his argument around the exigence, the loss of life at the Battle of Gettysburg, to the target audience.

He claims possessing material things that symbolize wealth, accomplishment, education and success leave little to argue with about whether or not someone was equal enough of a person to deserve these things (Washington, The Negro and the Signs of Civilization). He also argues that African Americans will need to work hard to acquire these symbols. His persuasion is further enhanced by playing to both sides of the civil rights movement. Washington pleads with white men as well as black men to raise up the former slaves to raise up society as a whole. He claims that with a third to half of the population of a state suppressed that greatness cannot be achieved (Washington,The Negro and the Signs of Civilization). He makes it clear that white men need to help make greatness achievable for the black man or find themselves fighting an uphill battle. In Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech from 1985, similar appeals are made of African Americans and white men. Being one of the first recorded radio speeches by an African American citizen, this event reached many ears including policy makers and others in higher levels of government (Washington, Atlanta Compromise Speech). What is most interesting about Booker T. Washington’s arguments was that he was clear on what should be the priority of African Americans and it was not necessarily representation in government. He was

Booker T. Washington was educator and a civil rights activist. In May 23, 1901 he wrote a letter to Alabama Constitutional Convention, regarding the African American (black) race. Within the letter he states how he wishes for blacks to be represented, as during this time, they did not have a voice in any public affairs. During this era of segregation, Booker T. Washington’s intent was for his letter to sway the minds of the Alabama Committee. With his letter, Washington displayed his concerns; He wanted African Americans to have a say in society, ease tension between the whites and black races, and explain the role and contributions of the black race to the members of the Alabama Constitution Convention.

The “Atlanta Compromise” by Booker T Washington was written when the racial tension was very high between the southern whites and African American blacks. The key points of the report as noted by Booker T. Washington was to reach an agreement for better relationships between the two ethnicities without any further discrimination or harm. The goal was to promote peace and harmony among the two ethnicities involved. The application of the compromise between Booker T. Washington and the Southern whites didn’t last long however before criticism arose (Washington 586). W.E.B DuBois then pointed out a definitive criticism of the “Atlanta Compromise,” labeling it as not only socially separating but also demeaning to the human civil rights.

A well-known African-American spokesman and leader, Booker T. Washington, in his speech, The Atlanta Compromise, describes how the treatment and equality aren't the same for African American people as it is for white people. Washington’s purpose is to try and persuade his audience that black and white people should have the same rights and be treated equally. He adopts a passive tone in order to convey to his audience that the black community does a lot of services for white people and aren’t treated as such. Booker T. Washington effectively convinces his audience that everyone should have equal rights through diction, facts and statistics, and figurative language.

On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln delivered a speech to discuss the possible effects of the Civil War and to give advice for the future of America. His tone is neutral because he just wants to inform his audience (of American women, children, slaves, free African-Americans and some men who were not fighting in wars) about the possible outcomes this war will bestow upon them.

3a. Booker T. Washington’s response regarding the following years of the Civil War and the era of Reconstruction is an interesting one to say the least. Unlike most African Americans at the time who wanted equality immediately, Washington understood that things would not happen instantaneously. Therefore, his address at the Atlanta Exposition upset some of his fellow African Americans. The reason for this was due to the influence his words and opinions had on both parties present. Washington was not concerned about the segregation. His main concern was for the whites to allow African Americans to contribute to the economic progress of the country. He wanted to befriend the Southern white man and had argued that in order to better the

On November 19, 1863, the American Civil War still raged and the outcome still in doubt. Four months previously, a terrible battle was fought at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This battle was really the first great victory for the Union over the Confederacy in the war to decide if the United States was to be one nation or two. President Abraham Lincoln returned to the battlefield at Gettysburg to help establish and dedicate a national soldiers cemetery to whence the casualties of the battle were to be interred. Edward Everett, a famous orator of the time, was the central speaker that day, and spoke for 2 hours, after which Lincoln made a few short remarks, that are now known as the Gettysburg Address.

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