Booker Washington an African American rights activist, gave a speech called the Atlanta Exposition Address.Washington wrote the address to compromise for the progress of African Americans.Washington was born a slave in Virginia, he was then set free and ¨rose to become one of the most influential African-American intellectuals of the late 19th-century ¨ (History p.1). That is why he believes in compromise because he has seen how far Americans had come Washington was also the first African American allowed in the White House as a guest, “ He served as an adviser to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft”(History p.1).
Washington gave his speech, Atlanta Exposition Address in 1895. This is thirty years after the civil war. Washington was a big believer in compromise. He thought the best way to make progress for African Americans was to prove it. During that time there was already lots of social tension between the races. Often time Blacks and Whites used separate bathrooms, water fountains, buses, train cars, and schools. Washington thought that trying to force equality would make White Americans
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He believed in taking responsibility for your condition, and proving that you are not inferior by working hard getting a job and becoming financially stable. Washington believed in working hard and that ¨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 of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities¨ (Textbook p.4). Washington told African Americans to be thankful for the progress made and hopeful for the future. He believed in not rushing things and more progress will come, don't try to push it don't try to make people feel a certain way. His philosophy was to prove that you should be treated a certain