Booker T Washington's Success Essay

“Success is to be measured not by the position one has reached in life but the obstacles he has overcome by trying to succeed.” Booker T Washington.

Throughout the 1800s slavery was a massive part of the United states. The slaves were the workers. They were paid little to nothing and had no rights or freedoms. The slave owners were often horrible horrible people who treated their slaves like they weren't humans. They often beat, abused, and even killed slaves if they so fit to do so. Booker T Washington was just a boy when slavery ended but he was still a slave for a brief time. He lived on a plantation with his mother, step father and siblings. His brother and step father worked on the field while Booker worked in the house with his mother

He knew from a very young age that the only way to unlock freedom was through education. If a man can teach himself things then he will be able to prosper. If a man is only able to do tasks under the greater authority of help then a man will survive. Washington didn’t want to just survive, he wanted to prosper and be free. In 1865 after the emancipation proclamation was instated as law the slaves were free. A problem soon after occured. The African American community did not know how to live in society. All they knew how to do was the work that they had been doing for years. Many of the slaves ended up bargaining with their old owners for work negotiations. Washington knew that without proper education the black community would end up going back to their old ways with their old masters and eventually revert back to slavery. Washington himself, not having an education, not knowing how to get an education got a job at a local coal mine. He hated it there but he was able to make a little money out of it to support his family. One day while working in the mines one of the men was talking about a private school in Hampton where only black people could get an education. After Washington heard this he knew this could be his chance. He needed to go to Hampton. He saved up the little money he could and went. The journey was not easy with many humps along the way but he eventually made it. Once he arrived he was accepted to the school if he would agree to being the schools janitor to help with his tuition costs. He obviously accepted the opportunity. Washington loved it there. He had classes, he was fed three meals a day, and he had a bed to sleep in. To him it was heaven. He had never experienced life outside of home to him ‘’ Life at Hampton was a constant revelation to me; was constantly taking me into a new world ‘’. (Washington 58) After two