Booker T. Washington's Battle Tactics

The Reconstruction Act of 1667 was enacted to aid the 13th amendment to be fully integrated into the South. However, it soon failed before accomplishing its goal of helping blacks vote to achieve equality. President Hayes had made a compromise in 1877, which ended Reconstruction and allowed white supremacists to take over the Southern black population. Though, the 14th and 15th amendments were ratified before the end of Reconstruction, they did not make much of a difference when the military power of the federal government left the South. The 14th amendment, which was enacted in 1868, outlined who was a citizen of the United States, and all of whom had equal protection under the law. It also said that all male citizens over the age of twenty one in all states, had the right to vote. It also voided all debts that former slaves may have held, causing all obligations and claims to their person to be illegal. The 15th amendment, which was enacted in 1870, said that all citizens of the United States had the right to vote. This amendment stated that no one could be denied the ability to vote because of their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Though these amendments were created to allow black more control of their social, political and economic situation, the Ku Klux Klan rose to smash it down. Men, women and children were suppressed through lynching, wrongful imprisonment and intimidation. A speech, which was written down for future use, was published in a book written by Booker T. Washington. It was originally given at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. At this era, expositions were like world fairs. There is many exhibits that show off the progress of mankind and inventions. The tones of these are always of a positive note. It is for fun loving people, so it is not very tense. The blacks were mostly likely serving the whites as janitors and waiters. Few, like Washington, would be free to do as they please. This speech was given in 1895, by a black man, who had been born into slavery. Washington because a popular spokesman for the African-Americans and quite popular with whites as well for this speech. He was also the founder for the Tuskegee school.
For the majority of the speech, Washington speaks of two things; cooperation and servitude. He wants the cooperation between the whites and black to further the progress of the South. He claims that this is of great importance to the African-American population. He also criticized the fact the bottom was ignored because they began at the top instead of building their way up from the bottom. They had to focus on industrial and rural progress instead of political agenda. He encouraged blacks to find the same amount of dignity in tilling a field as to writing a poem, by putting more brains and skill into common jobs. To the blacks, he says to cast down your bucket as a analogy to trust. He then encourages them to never underestimate the importance of friendly relations with the whites. To the whites, when he says cast down your buckets, he tells them that they will find the people, whose fidelity and love they tested, will still be loyal. The other part is where he is telling blacks to be useful to the white man. He romanticized slavery by claiming blacks were created as slaves to be submissive, patient, law-abiding, unresentful, and loyal servants. This appealed the to the Southern white’s dream of returning to the old order of things.
This small window allows us today to understand that even in 1895, the south was still fighting for the equality of African-Americans. However, this speech shows the idea of one man of how to solve the problem; give up, be perfect and they will eventually welcome us with open arms. Appealing to the whites, it also secured the funding and support of the Tuskegee school. This school, which was founded by Washington, taught young African-American women and men how to be better farmers, domestic servants, and businessmen. It neglected the skills of reading, writing, arithmetic, and science that our public schools today are mandatory. On the subject of equality, Washington believes that blacks should ease into it, by proving that they are prefect angels that should take baby steps to the dream of social equality. This comes from the simple fact that when the South was pushed too hard too fast, lynching increased, blacks remained at the bottom of the social chain and may lives were ‘wasted’. However, he ignores the problem of debt peonage that many blacks were pushed under. He tries hard to appeal to whites, saying that they should treat blacks like submissive servants, but still respect them. On the subject of segregation, he believed that though they were forced apart like fingers, whites and blacks were a part of the same hand and united. However, in the minds of most southern whites, this was not the case, they were treated like intruders that should never been worth anything. Segregation was just one of the many tools used to control blacks. Washington’s whole theologies depends on the fact that he believes that if blacks do not fight for equality and just allow whites to do as they please, that eventually they will be welcomed with open arms. This depended on the entire population not to severely and constantly struggle for equality, which according to Washington would be an artificial force. Du Bois, once supported Washington, had later criticized this speech. He claims that Washington was telling blacks to give up important rights. Political power was greatly reduced with the disfranchisement of the states and to give up voting. Giving up on the insistence of civil rights was implied when Washington told blacks to accept civil inferiority and segregation. While Du Bois believed in training based on ability, Washington’s Tuskegee school focused on agriculture, domestic and work force training. Du Bois viewed this as limiting the higher education for the Negro youth. He greatly opposed the contents of this speech. However, he was not a realist, sexist and didn’t understand that Washington was trying to save his race from being persecuted more for rebelling instead of just being submissive. Today, as I look back at these two men’s battle of morals and ethics, I can understand how they fought in different ways. Washington wanted a more subtle battle of conquering gradually, allowing people to change and soften with each generation. Du Bois, on the other hand, is more like a general who would send men on a suicidal mission, just to prove that they were not going to lie down and be tactical. He was more of the type to be fierce and yet, not think through the consequences of his actions. These men had the same end, but different means to get there.