Washington and DuBois in the Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction Era began in the years following the Civil War in which many African-American slaves finally achieved freedom after centuries of slavery. The Civil War brought about freedom to approximately four million slaves but also brought about a new set of challenges and struggles that the African-American community would have to face. The Reconstruction Era, also known as the Radical Reconstruction, occurred during the years of 1865 and 1877, in which many freed African Americans struggled to assimilate into society while also being faced with numerous societal and economical limitations. Both Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery: Chapter I: “A Slave Among Slaves” and W.E.B. DuBois’s The Souls of Black Folk: Chapter III: “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” depict the harsh reality of racism that many freed African-American slaves faced during the Reconstruction Era while each offering their own set of solutions to the struggles faced during that period. Washington, as a former slave during his childhood, portrays the harsh reality of racism by first describing his experience and what he remembers of his days as a slave. He begins his autobiography by using his sense of humor to highlight one struggle that many African-Americans had to face, which is not knowing anything about their ancestries. Washington explains that he is “not quite sure of the exact place or exact date of my birth, but at any rate I