As one read through American history one will encounter many debates and
disagreements among key figures. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had probably the most important dispute in American history. Whoever won the dispute would see their dream of their “ideal” America become true. Ultimately it was Hamilton’s vision that prevailed. As he predicted it, America would become a capitalist nation and a giant of industry. However, another important dispute was the one between Booker T. Washington and W.e.b. DuBois. Both of these men were African-Americans- and they both wanted the best for their race. Apart from that, the differences between them were like the difference between night and day. Both had very distinct visions of what the African-American community would be like in the future years, and the difference in their visions was partly due to their different backgrounds.
Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in Virginia in 1856. However, he
would soon rise as one of the greatest African-American intellectuals of all time. His stern upbringing taught him to be clean and sharp. On top of that he was given the opportunity to study at one of the most prestigious institutions for African-Americans of his time. Unfortunately, his charm and his education would not erase the fact that he was still an African-American that lived in the South and had to face discrimination on a daily basis. Even from the early stages of his life Booker T. Washington was a proponent of self-improvement. Nevertheless, he would soon decide that no matter how much the African-American community improved itself it would still face constant discrimination, especially in the South. After losing the Civil War the South had become extremely bitter after having to give slaves their freedom and accept the terms of the Reconstruction. Soon many organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan would try their best to stop the Reconstruction in the South. As a result, African-Americans only saw a rise in racial violence after the Civil War. For African-Americans lynching was a common occurrence. To make matters worse, the South had just replaced the institution of slavery with sharecropping, which was basically slavery in disguise. Sharecroppers were soon tied to the landowners and put in a placed in a vicious cycle of debt. The American government also realized that fact that the African-Americans were just not prepared for a life of freedom. They simply did not have the knowledge nor the education required to make a living on their own.
Given the situation of African-Americans in the South Booker T. Washington
was determined to promote self-improvement for the African-Americans. He encouraged many to receive an education in vocational fields. However, what was perhaps the most controversial part of his plan was the idea that the African-Americans would have to acquiesce to the ways of the Jim Crow South. In other words, they would have to accept segregation and discrimination as simply parts of their daily lives. This can be highlighter in the Atlanta Compromise. The compromise was an agreement between Booker T. Washington and other African-American leaders as well as Southern white leaders. Here the Southern blacks would agree to work without creating any disturbances. In return the Southern whites would guarantee basic education and
due process in law for the African-Americans. In Washington’s mind there was no other solution. He was sure that if the African-Americans ever tried to rally in violent protests they would be hopelessly crushed by the Southern state governments. After all, he had lived in the South for a long time and he had seen how many slave rebellions had been brutally silenced time and time again. It was a big risk for the African-Americans to protest and rebel.
On the other side there was W.e.b DuBois. Unlike Booker T. Washington,
DuBois was born in the north. He was born and raised in Massachusetts. which unlike the South was a lot more open towards the African-American society. As a result DuBois was able to attend great schools along with white classmates. Later he would become the first African-American to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard University. Given the fact that spent most of his life in the north he did not have to witness the adversities that the African-Americans had to face in the South as much as Washington did. Therefore, he was also a lot more bold in his vision for the African-Americans. He believed that black Americans could defeat segregation only by gaining political power. He also believed that full education was necessary. In addition, he developed the concept of the “talented tenth.” This concept stated that there was a one in ten chance that an individual could later become a leader of his race. Therefore, he wanted 10% of the African-American population to act as genuine leaders of their community.
DuBois’ aggressive plan separated him from men such as Booker T. Washington.
Washington was a lot more cautious, and that is why the Atlanta Compromise made perfect sense for him. DuBois thought that the Atlanta Compromise only slowed down the growth of the African-American society in America. He did not want to wait for years before black Americans could actually exercise power and occupy important offices in government, and ultimately he may have been right. Looking back one would notice that it was only when black Americans acted that they actually made political gains. If they would have just waited for their situation nothing would have changed. If African-Americans would have never fought for power the civil rights movement would have never taken place, there would have been no Harlem Renaissance, and the African-Americans would have never found the opportunity to manifest themselves.
Both men had good intentions, but now it is safe to say DuBois’ vision for the
black America prevailed. It was only through political activism and aggressive self-improvement that black Americans were able to adjust and accommodate into their society.
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Why do you think there was disagreement as to the future of Black America? Do you think a more aggressive approach to reconstruction possibly led to the rise of the KKK? I like that you compare the two black leaders to Hamilton and Jefferson in that they had different visions regarding the future. If you had to compare the two directly, who would you match up to Hamilton/Jefferson?
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http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924
I like that you compared two versions of black america, because usually in history classes we compare black vs white. It was a smart choice to compare two contrasting men's ideas. Its interesting Booker T Washington founded the Tuskegee university. How do you think their backgrounds influenced their ideas?
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I really like how your article is detailed and concise and that you describe the upbringing of both A.A. leaders. I like how you show that a lot of their ideas have to do with where they came from just like you did with Hamilton and Jefferson. However, do you think that if Du Bois wasn't from the north he would be as bold as he was with his policies? Would Washington have been more bold if he were raised in the North?
ReplyDeleteI found your comparison of the two men very interesting and eye opening. One would think that the man from the south would take a more aggressive approach towards the rights of blacks. But, after reading your post I realized that when growing up seeing the horror that one would see, as a black man in the south, casted by the white man that they would actually take a more careful approach out of their need to survive. It also opened my mind to the fact that when one sees their people being mistreated, but is not being mistreated themselves, that they would get enraged and try to attack to opposition with full force while not thinking of the consequence.
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