Up from Slavery: An Autobiography

Booker T. Washington

The Floating Press, Dec 1, 2009 - Biography & Autobiography - 342 pages

Delve into the turbulent roots of race relations in the United States with this inspirational account from Booker T. Washington, a one-time slave who became an important advocate for African-American education and founded several well-known institutions of higher learning, including the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Up From Slavery details Washington's life and outlines his sometimes-controversial views on education, social justice, and racial equality.

Contents

• Preface: 6
• Introduction: 8
• Chapter I A Slave Among Slaves: 20
• Chapter II Boyhood Days: 41
• Chapter III The Struggle for an Education: 59
• Chapter IV Helping Others: 80
• Chapter V The Reconstruction Period: 97
• Chapter VI Black Race and Red Race: 108
• Chapter VII Early Days at Tuskegee: 122
• Chapter VIII Teaching School in a Stable and a HenHouse: 134
• Chapter IX Anxious Days and Sleepless Nights: 149
• Chapter X A Harder Task than Making Bricks Without Straw: 164
• Chapter XI Making Their Beds Before They Could Lie on Them: 179
• Chapter XII Raising Money: 192
• Chapter XIII Two Thousand Miles for a FiveMinute Speech: 211
• Chapter XIV The Atlanta Exposition Address: 232
• Chapter XV The Secret of Success in Public Speaking: 253
• Chapter XVI Europe: 283
• Chapter XVII Last Words: 309
• Endnotes: 341

About the author

Booker Taliaferro Washington, 1856 - 1915 Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Hales Ford, Virginia, near Roanoke. After the U.S. government freed all slaves in 1865, his family moved to Malden, West Virginia. There, Washington worked in coal mines and salt furnaces. He went on to attend the Hampton, Virginia Normal and Agricultural Institute from 1872-1875 before joining the staff in 1879. In 1881 he was selected to head the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, a new teacher-training school for blacks, which he transformed into a thriving institution, later named Tuskegee University. His controversial conviction that blacks could best gain equality in the U.S. by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights was termed the Atlanta Compromise, because Washington accepted inequality and segregation for blacks in exchange for economic advancement. Washington advised two Presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, on racial problems and policies, as well as influencing the appointment of several blacks to federal offices. Washington became a shrewd political leader and advised not only Presidents, but also members of Congress and governors. He urged wealthy people to contribute to various black organizations. He also owned or financially supported many black newspapers. In 1900, Washington founded the National Negro Business League to help black business firms. Washington fought silently for equal rights, but was eventually usurped by those who ideas were more radical and demanded more action. Washington was replaced by W. E. B. Du Bois as the foremost black leader of the time, after having spent long years listening to Du Bois deride him for his placation of the white man and the plight of the negro. He died in 1915.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Up from Slavery: An Autobiography
• Author: Booker T. Washington
• Publisher: The Floating Press, 2009
• ISBN: 177541700X, 9781775417002
• Length: 342 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / General; Social Science / General; Social Science / Sociology / General