Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois were two of the most influential black men that led to the push for civil rights. However, their philosophies differed greatly. They were vocal about their disagreements, and their opposing strategies are still discussed today in discussions regarding ending today’s racism. Booker T. Washington was born a slave, and grew up to be an incredibly influential man. Washington is famous for his inspiring Atlanta Compromise speech, where he spoke about how blacks should respond to racial tensions.
Booker T. Washington has exposure to what it was like to be a slave. Specifically, "Booker T. knows what the relationship and roles are between Blacks and Whites. He was born into slavery in 1856, he was then forcibly taken from his family to work on a plantation for 9 years, until 1865 when slavery ended. For example, Booker T. knows what the relationship is between us and whites, so he knows that it's best for African Americans to follow segregation laws to live a peaceful life. “Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia in 1856, but gained his freedom thanks to the emancipation proclamation” ( as stated in Booker T. Washington vs W.E.B Dubois worksheet).
W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington “I never thought Washington was a bad man. I believed him to be sincere, though wrong” (McGill). W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington had the same goal for the black community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but they both went about it in different ways.
Influences of America’s Declaration of War in 1917 Due to the combination of the influence of Allied propaganda, America’s economic interests, and Germany’s naval strategy, America declared war on Germany in 1917. This is due to the fact that they were swayed by the three main factors. America had strong economic ties with the Allied powers, and eventually gave them larger loans than they gave to Germany. Allied propaganda swayed many Americans by reminding them of ancestral bonds that they shared.
At the start of the 20th century, there were two well-known African American leaders who wanted to achieve equality in America for African Americans. W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington did not agree on how to fight for the rights and opportunities for African Americans, even though they were alive in the same century. The life that African Americans experience during an important time in American history might be better understood by looking at their histories, philosophies, and achievements. Booker T. Washington saw how wrong slavery was from a young age, after being born into slavery in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1856. Washington wanted and managed to finish his studies, even though he and his family were faced with financial problems after being able to gain independence.
Thesis statement: The two great leaders in the black community debating about the issues that face the Negro race and Du Bois gave a compelling argument by using pathos, logos and ethos to create an essay that will appear to all readers. Outline: This essay will showcase the contradicting philosophies between W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Also, paying close attention to the different types of leadership between the two historic leaders in the black community. Both W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington contributed to and helped shape the future of African Americans.
Du Bois believes that Washington exhibits an old attitude of submission. Whereas Washington sees starting from the bottom as necessary and beneficial Du Bois sees it as submissive and harmful towards the progression of equality. Both Du Bois and Washington believed that their viewpoint was going to lead to more equal treatment and overall improved quality of life for African Americans. Both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had ideas on how to improve African American lives, Washington believed in starting at the bottom and working up whereas Du Bois had an opposing viewpoint he saw starting from the bottom as submissive and believed African Americans should hold important jobs in
Booker T. Washington believess that African Americans should be proficient in manual labor before even considering the possibilities of political positions or equal rights, on the other hand, W.E.B
Booker T. Washington and Others” Dubois uses a great deal of rhetorical strategies. His most used rhetorical strategy was ethos or ethical. This makes him a trustworthy and credible source, giving him the stronger argument. Dubois starts off his essay by stating that Booker T. Washington’s ideas of acquiring new skills and staying silent as a form of gaining equal rights was not an original idea. He emphasizes that, “His programme of industrial education, conciliation of the South, and submission and silence as to civil and political rights, was not wholly original; the Free Negroes from 1830 up to wartime had striven to build industrial schools, and the American Missionary Association had from the first taught various trades; and Price and others had sought a way of honorable alliance with the best of the Southerners.”
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were civil rights activists with very different ideas about to civil rights. To put it simply, Booker believed that African-Americans should act as best as they could in society, and that over time people would come to realize that they were equal to their white peers. DuBois felt that education and civil rights activism were the more efficient way to show equality of races. Booker preached a philosophy of self-help, urging blacks to accept discrimination for the time being. As a Southerner himself, Washington was familiar with the needs of southern blacks as well as the treatment that they received.
However Booker T. Washington believed in having a more skillful education, consisting of learning how to trade, mastering agriculture skills and more things one would need to get a job. However, W.E.B DuBois also put many efforts to achieve equal rights towards African Americans which Booker T Washington put on hold. Booker T Washington’s plan was to make it so that “Blacks would [have to] accept segregation and discrimination but their eventual acquisition of wealth and culture would gradually win for them the respect and acceptance of whites”. This vision that Booker T Washington had “practically accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro race”. W.E.B commented on this process saying it was an attempt, “to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings.”
Around the 20th century there has been profound leaders and speakers. The most controversial and outstanding speakers were Booker T.Washington and W.E.B Du Bois,two speakers with very different backgrounds but fighting for the same achievements:which are Black Advancement, Racial Relations,and Educational plans. Booker T.Washington a dominant figure in African American culture, he was born into slavery alongside his mother in Hale’s Ford, Virginia. Were at the age of nine he was freed from slavery,and was able to move along to West Virginia. At the young age of sixteen he was enrolled at the college at the Hampton Normal and Agriculture Institute in Hampton,Virginia.
Booker T. Washington was born a slave and worked as a janitor to get through school. Whereas W.E.B. Du Bois was born in the North and faced very little discrimination, and had an easier time getting into College. They were well educated, and the only difference between them was how they were raised in different environments. Both were on the journey to improve African American’s social and political status in America. However, they had different methods for getting what they wanted.
These two speeches are about some viewpoints of between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. They both have similar and different perspective about how African American should live in order to earn respect and achieve better quality of life. There are same and different points between Washington and Du Bois. Both of them have similar philosophies. They both opposed segregation between Caucasian and African-American.
It was there he experienced the Jim Crow laws and began to analyze the problems of American discrimination. William Du Bois philosophy on race was different compared to educator Booker T. Washington(Booker). They did not come to terms with a significant amount of topics, had different ideas on progressivism, yet still were able to merge their ideas to help Blacks gain equal rights. W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington had one of the biggest rivalries in the 20th century. They were both accomplished scholars and activists, but it was their differences in black progress and background that shaped blacks’ communities’ future.
