Precis Three Assignment - Needed in 6.5 hours

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HIST1302ExampleofaPrecis1.docx

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HIST1302

The Atlanta Compromise Speech

The Atlanta Compromise speech was given by Booker T. Washington in 1895. In this speech, which Washington gave at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, Washington asks for blacks to be given equal opportunities in terms of gaining economic rights. Washington, however, does not ask for any civil rights for blacks, and does not push the audience to accept blacks as their equals. Instead, Washington says blacks and whites “can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” Washington acknowledges that blacks had initially gotten rights after slavery but says that blacks did not know how to handle these rights. This speech is important because it shows Washington’s attitudes towards civil rights in the turn-of-the-century. It proves that Washington believed that economic progress was the best way for blacks to prove themselves to whites, and it also is important because it shows that Washington was concerned that the new immigrants, which we discussed in class, would be taking jobs away from blacks. This speech shows how bad conditions were for blacks during the Jim Crow era and how the black leadership was trying to make things better.

Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others

“Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” was published as part of W.E.B. Du Bois’s 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. In this essay, Du Bois comes out as extremely critical of Booker T. Washington, especially Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech. Instead of pushing only for economic rights, like Washington suggests, Du Bois argues that American blacks needed to have full citizenship. Du Bois suggests that Washington is no different than black leaders during the time of slavery and was willing to settle for less than what blacks deserved. Du Bois was against Washington’s program of industrial education and said “it startled the nation to hear a Negro advocating such a programme after many decades of bitter complaint; it startled and won the applause of the South, it interested and won the admiration of the North; and after a confused murmur of protest, it silenced if it did not convert the Negroes themselves.” This highlights a key difference between Washington and Du Bois because Du Bois did not believe blacks needed to be limited to industrial education. Throughout this document, Du Bois states why he thinks that Washington’s ideas were so dangerous for blacks. This document is important because it shows that not all blacks believed in Washington’s ideas, and that there were different methods put forth for helping blacks achieve their rights during the era of Jim Crow. Du Bois’s background and education led him to believe that blacks could- and should- do more than what Washington expected.

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