W. E. B. Du Bois: An Argumentative Essay

Through a calamity of chaos, violence, and racism, the post Civil War era in the South proved significant in the emergence of a new African American and white culture in American society. was a calamity of chaos, violence, and racism. Southern white men lost their power, and their identity when they were stripped of their way of life due to Reconstruction (1865-1877) and the 13th Amendment (1865). In an attempt to reestablish the South, white men oppressed blacks through racial violence and hatred. Through this violence the African American community attempts to mold a new identity of freedom and discovery. The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Du Bois is an argumentative essay that exposes the truths behind the Southern white and black identity clash known as the “color-line” which is divided by a “veil” of violence, prejudice and inequality that is obscuring African American civil advancement. Education and black culture are Du Bois’s main

Du Bois exposes Washington stating Washington’s attitude is an, "old attitude of adjustment and submission (37),” Washington promoted an industrial education, which would train black men to be submissive workers under a white dominated management. On the other hand, Du Bois argued for an equal education that was equivalent to a white classical education– focusing on social sciences such as rhetoric, history, and language – creating individuals known as the “talented ten.” These men would be the black men that would set the example of a new black identity, and would promote advancement for blacks. Educated men like Du Bois become the face of the African American community and promote a new educated black