In the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the black man was treated not as if he were a man, but as if he were an animal. He usually had no education and was kept ignorant and in slavery most or all of his life. Not many black men had succeeded back then. Frederick Douglass was one who did. He had become free, a participant in the Abolitionist movements, a counselor to Presidents, and a great orator. The year that Douglass died, another Negro appeared in the public spotlight. His name was Booker T. Washington. His life story, which is now Up From Slavery, was first published in an influential periodical, The Outlook. Washington had already made one attempt at autobiography, The Story of My Life and Work. This was a disconnected collection of speeches, letters, and news stories, barely connected by a narrative. After being pushed by Lyman Abbot, a great liberal editor, and others, Washington started writing bits and pieces of his life story whenever he had time and then submitting them. The editors liked his straightforward style and rags to riches story but kept pointing out gaps in chronology between chapters.

When The Outlook was finally published in book form, it became a best seller immediately. It was printed in English as well as western European languages, and even in Braille. Even so, Washington did have critics, among whom was W. E. B. DuBois. They didn’t like the way that he seemed to fawn over middle- and upper-class whites because they were actual or possible contributors to Tuskegee. They also didn’t like his "Uncle Tom" attitude towards his own race. He did have many supporters, though. Most thought that, under the circumstances, he took the best possible course through his life. Some say that if the American Dream ever existed, that Booker Taliaferro Washington made that Dream come true.

Booker T. Washington was born on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. He doesn’t know exactly when or where he was born, though. He does know that he was born near a cross-roads post-office called Hale’s Ford in 1858 or 1859. The earliest things he can remember are of the plantation and the slave quarters. He was born in a typical log cabin, about fourteen by sixteen feet square. He knows almost nothing of his ancestry. He also knows very little of his father except that he was a slave from a nearby plantation. Since Booker’s mother was the plantation cook, their cabin was not only their living-place, but was used as the plantation kitchen also. The cabin had no glass windows and was built poorly so that during the winter, the cold winter air swept through the cabin. The cabin had no wooden floor, only dirt. There were three children living in the house, John, Booker’s older brother, Amanda, Booker’s sister, and Booker, who all slept on a pallet made of filthy rags on the floor. Booker had no schooling as a slave. The closest he got to schooling was helping one of his mistresses carry her books to the schoolhouse. On the plantation, he remembers that the children got their food about the same way the animals did. They usually got a piece of bread here and some meat there. They were not fed all at one time. They would get small scraps here and there. He said that he can not remember one time during his boyhood when his whole family sat down, asked for God’s blessing, and ate in a civilized manner.

The first pair of shoes Booker ever had were made of leather and wood. Since the soles were very stiff, it made it hard for him to walk. The most trying ordeal that he went through as a slave, though, was wearing a new flax shirt. His skin was still very tender and it felt to him as though needles were being pushed into him. His brother, John, acted very generously and wore it for a few days to break it in so it wouldn’t hurt Booker so badly.

Finally the Civil War ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was put into effect. It was a momentous occasion among the slaves. That day, all the slaves were told to come to the "big house". They were all told that they were free and that they could go when and where they wanted. All the slaves were ecstatic at first, but later they realized that this meant that they were on their own. Some had been in slavery their whole lives and didn’t know where to go. Most didn’t know a trade and when faced with the fact that they would have to provide for themselves, many slaves got very scared and confused.

When the slaves were set free, their main goal was to do two things. One was to change their name because they didn’t feel it was right to bear the surname of their former owner. The second was to leave the plantation for at least a few days or weeks to make sure that they were really free. What little clothing and items Booker and his family had were loaded into a cart and prepared to move several hundred miles into West Virginia. They finally reached their destination of Malden, which is about five miles from Charleston. Salt-mining was the main industry in that part of West Virginia and Booker’s stepfather had already secured a job in a salt-furnace. Even though Booker was still a child, he and his brother were put to work there.

The first thing Booker can remember learning was the number "18". Each salt packer was assigned a number and his stepfather’s happened to be 18. After seeing it so much, he soon learned to recognize it. From as far back as he can remember, Booker always had a longing to read. The first tool that helped him move towards this was Webster’s "blue-black" spelling-book. His mother got it for him and at the time of his writing this book, he still did not know where she got it. When a school for Negroes finally opened in the Kanawha Valley, Booker wanted to go there more than anything. His stepfather, though, had discovered that he had financial value and said that he could not spare Booker’s work. This made Booker study his "blue-black" speller even harder. Booker was persistent and it finally paid off when his parents decided that he would be allowed to attend school during the day for a few months. He would have to rise early in the morning and work until nine o’clock. He could then go to school as long as he returned to the salt-furnace afterwards for a few more hours of work.

When Booker started going to school, he had two problems. His first problem was that he noticed that all of the other kids wore hats or caps on their heads, of which Booker had neither. Booker felt uncomfortable about this and his mother could see it. She made a cap out of two pieces of jeans for him, and he loved it. His second problem was that of a name. All of the other kids in the class had two and sometimes three names. Booker never had need for more than one name before but a problem arose now because he was sure the teacher would demand more than just "Booker" from him. When the time came for him to tell the teacher his name, he just said, "Booker Washington," as if it had been his name his whole life. He later found out that soon after he was born, his mother gave him the name of Booker Taliaferro. Once he found out about this, he revived it and made his full name Booker Taliaferro Washington.

Booker’s attendance at school was irregular and after a while he had to stop going altogether and devote all of his time to work. Soon after Booker and his family moved to West Virginia, they adopted an orphan boy into their family and later named him James B. Washington.

After working in the salt-furnace for some time, Booker was secured a job in a coal mine. Booker had some fear about working there. He would often get lost and sometimes his light would go out. He would have to wander around in the darkness until he found someone who would give him a light. Accidents were also frequent which added to Booker’s horror of working there. Booker says here that he does not envy the white boy as he once did. He says that he would rather be what he is than a member of any favored race.

One day Booker was working in the coal mine when he overheard two minors talking about a school for colored people in Hampton, Virginia. Booker instantly decided that he had to go there and would do anything to achieve this. Later, he heard about a job opening at the home of Lewis Ruffner, the owner of the salt-furnace. He applied and was hired for five dollars per month. While working there, Mrs. Ruffner taught him the value of good work. He got to be very close to her and while there, he started making a library out of a dry-goods box and any books he could find. He saved as much money as he could out of the money that he was paid. Finally, he had enough money (so he thought) to start for Hampton.

On the way there, he stopped at a hotel to room for the night. He was told that he was not allowed to stay there. This was Booker’s first run-in with racial prejudice. Finally, by walking and begging rides, he got to Richmond, which was not too far from Hampton. He applied to many places for lodging, but was turned down, so he slept under the sidewalk. When he woke up the next morning, he realized that he was near a shipyard. Nearby, there was a captain unloading pig iron off of his ship. Booker went up to him and asked if he could help. The captain seemed very nice and told him that he could. He liked Booker’s work and told him that if he wanted to continue it, he would get paid, but only a small amount. Booker agreed to the job. He continued to sleep under the sidewalk the entire time he was in Richmond. When he had enough money, he left Richmond and started for Hampton. When he got there, he had fifty cents extra.

When he saw the first building of Hampton, he thought it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He went to see Ms. Mary F. Mackie as soon as he got there. She was unsure about Booker at first and told him to come back later. When he came back, she told him to sweep the recitation room. After he was done, she inspected the room and gave him the job of janitor so he could pay his room and board. At Hampton, Booker met the noblest, rarest man he had ever met. This was General Samuel C. Armstrong. He taught Booker many lessons while at Hampton. Also Booker says that the most valuable lesson he learned at Hampton was the use and value of the bath. He thinks this is an important thing not only because it keeps the body clean but because it inspires self-respect.

At the end of his first year, Booker was confronted with another problem. He had no place to go. All of the other kids went home to their families. Booker didn’t have enough money to go home. He also had another problem. He was still in debt to the school sixteen dollars for tuition. He went and talked to General J. F. B. Marshall about his debt. General Marshall said that he could reenter Hampton without paying the debt immediately. He said that he trusts Booker to pay it off. The next year, Booker continued to be the janitor at Hampton. The most valuable lesson he learned in his second year at Hampton was the use of the Bible, which was taught to him by Nathalie Lord. He said that any public speaking ability that he has he owes to Miss Lord. At the end of his second year, with the help of money sent to him by his mother and brother John, he was able to return to his home in Malden. While there, Booker went a good distance away to try and find work. He didn’t find a job and it was night before started home, so he decided to sleep in an abandoned house. In the middle of the night, he was awakened by his brother, John, who told him that his mother had died. This was probably the saddest and bleakest time in Booker’s life.

At the end of the summer, Ms. Mackie sent a letter to Booker asking him to come to school two weeks early so that he might help her clean the school for the new semester. After Booker graduated, he had almost no money, but had secured a job as waiter in a Connecticut hotel. He was not a good waiter at first and was demoted. He was determined to learn to wait on people and within a few weeks was restored to his previous position. At the close of the hotel season, he returned to his home in Malden. When he got there, he was elected to teach a school for colored children. He did not just teach them book work. He taught them other things, too, like how to comb their hair and how to keep themselves clean. Booker also taught private lessons to a few young men who he was fitting to go to Hampton.

The Reconstruction Period is a period where many colored people had a desire to learn the Greek and Latin languages and to hold office. During this period, many colored men were also called to preach. This call usually came in church and the person that was called would fall to the ground and lie there for a long time. Many black people looked to the federal government to help them with everything. Even though Booker was a small boy during the Reconstruction, he could tell that there were many mistakes being made and that things could not stay this way for long without many problems arising. When Booker got older, he was very tempted to get into politics to try to change it’s direction, but he felt that his presence would be felt in a better and more positive way if he devoted his life to helping the Negro race. Many of the colored people that held government positions at that time were unworthy of their positions because some could not even read or write. Since black people in the South did not have a proper chance for education, they made many mistakes in office, as any race of people would have done in a similar situation.

In the fall of 1878, Booker decided to study in Washington, D. C. The institution he attended there was one that did not have industrial training. This gave Booker the chance to compare a school without industrial training to a school such as Hampton, which emphasizes it. At Hampton, the student tried, through his industry, to help support himself. It also helped build the character of that student. The students at the school in Washington, D. C. seemed less self dependent and gave more attention to outward appearances. He also saw many cases of the child getting whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. When their want for things increased, their ability to supply those things had not been increased.

During the time that Booker was in Washington, D. C., there was much controversy in West Virginia about moving the capital from Wheeling to another central point. Charleston, which was only five miles from Booker’s home town of Malden, was one of the cities being considered for the new capital. At the end of the school year in Washington, D. C., Booker was presently surprised by a committee of white men who came to him asking if he would go around speaking on behalf of Charleston and its qualities. He accepted this invitation and spent about three months speaking. It must have been of some influence on the people and government of West Virginia because Charleston was chosen as the permanent seat of government.

Soon after Booker finished speaking about the removal of the capital, he got an invitation from General Armstrong to return to Hampton and give what was called the "post-graduate address." He chose "The Force That Wins" as the subject of his speech. Being asked to do this was an honor that he hadn’t dreamed of getting and was very proud to be the one who was selected. Everyone seemed to like his speech, and many kind words regarding it were spoken to him afterwards.

Soon after Booker gave his speech, General Armstrong told Booker about a new thing that he was going to try. He was going to try to educate Indians at Hampton. He asked Booker if he would be a sort of "house father" to them. He would live with them and be in charge of their discipline, clothing, and rooms. Booker had a lot of work to do elsewhere but since it was General Armstrong asking, he agreed. Booker lived in a building with seventy-five Indians. He soon felt that he had their love and respect. He also discovered that they were just like any other human being; they responded to kind treatment and resented ill-treatment. Booker took special delight in watching the colored students help the Indians with their work.

Soon after the project with the Indians, Booker was asked by General Armstrong to teach a night school for men and women who were intensely interested in learning but were too poor to buy books or pay for room and board. Booker agreed and soon saw that these students were very intent on learning. In fact, he saw how much earnestness they put into their hard work during the day and their studies at night that he gave them the name of "The Plucky Class." This name became very popular on campus. When a student went to the night school long enough, he was given a certificate that affirmed it. The students took great pride in having these certificates and they added much popularity to the night school.

Close to the end of his first year teaching the night school, Booker got another surprise. General Armstrong told him that he had received a letter from a few gentlemen asking if he knew of a man who would be willing and able to take charge of a normal school for colored people in Tuskegee, Alabama. General Armstrong asked Booker if he would be willing to try the job. Booker agreed to it. General Armstrong then wrote back to the men saying that he did not know of a white man for the job, but if they would be willing to take a colored man, he knew of one. He then gave them Booker’s name. Several days later, the men wrote him back saying that Booker would do just fine.

Before going to Tuskegee, Booker expected for everything to be prepared for him when he got there. He was sadly disappointed when he got there and found that there was no building and basically no anything. He finally ended up using a battered old shanty near the colored Methodist Church. It was in very bad condition and whenever it rained, someone would have to hold an umbrella over Booker’s head so he could teach and not get soaked with water. Before the school opened up, Booker spent time traveling through the countryside advertising the school to the class of people he wanted to attend it. While traveling with a mule and a cart, he stayed with people along the way. This way, he actually got to see how they lived because they weren’t expecting company and had no time to clean up or get ready. He saw that while most lived in extreme poverty, many had expensive things such as sewing machines in their houses. These things rarely got used, but they still had them. In one case, he stayed with a family who all ate from one fork but in the corner had a sixty dollar organ that they were paying for in monthly installments. Even though basically everything around these people was in shambles, some must have still taken pride in having expensive material things.

After talking with the citizens of Tuskegee, Booker decided to designate July 4, 1881, as the opening date for the school in the little shanty and church. Many white people could not see the importance of a school for colored people. They did not see how it could produce any other kind of what was called an educated Negro than one who lives by his wits. There is two men who Booker has been able to constantly depend on throughout the time that he worked with Tuskegee. These two men are Mr. George W. Campbell, a white man and ex-slave holder, and Mr. Lewis Adams, a black man and ex-slave. These are the two men who wrote to General Armstrong to find someone to start and operate Tuskegee.

The morning that the school opened, thirty students reported for admission. There were about the same number of boys as of girls. Booker was the only teacher. He soon found out that many of the students were fond of memorizing long and complicated rules in grammar and math. One of the things the students seemed to like to tell Booker that they had mastered was "banking and discount." Booker found out, though, that none of them and almost no one in the neighborhood in which they lived had ever had a bank account. He found out that while they could point out locations on a globe, none of the girls could tell him the proper place for utensils on a table. Booker said that one of the hardest things he had to do was tell a student who had been studying cube roots and "banking and discount" that the smartest thing for him to do would be to learn his multiplication tables. Aside from all of this, the students were very willing to learn the right way to do something as soon as it was showed to them. At the end of the first six weeks, a new teacher came to work at Tuskegee. This woman, who would be Booker’s future wife, was Miss Olivia A. Davidson. The number of pupils that Booker had increased each week and by the end of the first month, they had nearly fifty.

About three months after the opening of the school, an old plantation went onto the market for sale. The "big house" on it had burned. The price on it of five hundred dollars was little, but they had no money. Booker summoned all the courage he had and wrote General J. F. B. Marshall, the Treasurer of the Hampton Institute, asking him for the money. General Marshall wrote Booker back and said he could not lend Booker the money out of the school account, but he could lend it to him out of his own pocket. Booker wasted no time in moving the location of the school. At the time, there was an old cabin, an old kitchen, a stable, and a hen house still standing on the land. They made use of all these buildings. After the buildings were cleaned and ready, Booker decided that it was time to plant a crop. He decided that the young men of the school would help him. They did not take very kindly to this idea. They did not see the connection between clearing land and getting an education. Finally, after seeing Booker do it, they felt more comfortable and began to work with more enthusiasm.

Several times, the institute had a festival where many families of the town would bake cakes, cook chicken, etc. and give them to the school so they could be sold for money. One day, an old women came to Booker and said that she had no money but had six eggs that she would like to put towards the students’ education. Booker said that no other gift has ever touched him so much.

During Booker’s first Christmas vacation at Tuskegee, he went to visit some of the people on a large plantation. He said that it was pathetic to see their attempts to get joy out of the season. All one family had to remind them of the season was a single bunch of firecrackers. At Tuskegee, they tried to teach the students the meaning of Christmas. Booker says that this does not only benefit them but all the people around them as well. He says that one of the joys of the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons is seeing the students give help to people, especially to the unfortunate. Even though it may seem kind of strange, Booker notes that Tuskegee has no warmer or kinder friends than the white people of the town of Tuskegee.

After five months, Booker secured the entire five hundred dollars with which to pay back General Marshall for the loan. About that same time, they also received a deed of the one hundred acres of land. The first animal that Tuskegee came into possession of was an old blind horse given to them by one of the white citizens of Tuskegee. After everything was paid for and the cultivation of the land had begun, they turned their sights towards acquiring a larger and more substantial building. After all the help that could be secured in town was, Miss Davidson went North trying to secure additional funds. While putting up their first building, Booker had told one of the creditors that he would have his money by a certain date. On that day, Booker did not have any money to give him. When the mail came that day, there was a check in it for exactly four hundred dollars sent by Miss Davidson. The money had been given to her by a pair of ladies in Boston. A few years later when money was very much in need, the two same ladies sent a check for six thousand dollars. Also, the same women have sent a check for six thousand dollars every year since.

Many times, Booker could not sleep at night because bills were coming due and he did not know where he would get the money. Through these times, though, Booker never went to a white or black person in town seeking their help and didn’t get it. One time, Booker was in great need of money, and he laid the problem down before General Armstrong. He gave Booker money that he had been saving for his own use. Booker was very thankful to him.

During the summer of 1882, Booker married Miss Fannie N. Smith. They had one child, a daughter named Portia M. Washington. Unfortunately, his wife died before she had the opportunity to see what Tuskegee Institute was designed to be.

From the very start, Booker was determined to have the students do everything for themselves, even put up their own buildings. Many people advised against this, though. They did not think it was a good idea to have students put up a building. Even so, Booker continued.

Booker thinks that one of the most trying experiences he had as at Tuskegee was the task of making bricks. Booker was determined to do this also. Finally they molded about twenty-five thousand bricks into the kiln to be burned. The kiln was not constructed properly and the bricks did not burn correctly. A second attempt was made, and it failed for the same reason. A third kiln was built with the help of several teachers and seemed okay. In the middle of the burning, though, it fell. Finally, on a fourth attempt, they were successful at making bricks. After that, brick making became an important industry at Tuskegee.

About that same time, many students began to object to the idea of doing work. They still couldn't see what it had to do with getting an education. Booker received many letters on this topic from parents who did not want their child doing work while at Tuskegee.

As soon as the first building was near enough to completion. They began using it. At that time, no provision for a kitchen or dining room had been made. Booker knew that this was a job for the students. They found out, though, that by digging out a large amount of earth from under the building, they could make a partially lighted basement room that could be used as a kitchen and dining room. It was cramped and uncomfortable, but it was something.

Booker says that as he looks back, he is glad that the students had to build everything for themselves. He is glad that they weren't just stuck in a nice, comfortable building. It was a more natural process for them to do it themselves. Even though they went through many hardships, Booker wouldn't have had it any other way.

Booker got many visits at Tuskegee from people, including General Marshall, Miss Mackie, and General Armstrong. They were all very impressed with the progress that Tuskegee had made over the course of the last couple years. It was growing very rapidly. Booker learned many lessons from General Armstrong, but one of the most important ones is not to hold hatred toward anyone just because of color or creed.

The number of students at Tuskegee was constantly growing, and the matter of where these students should live became a big problem. Finally, they rented a number of cabins near the school. These cabins were in very poor condition, and during the winter they secured very little warmth for the students living in them. Also, the school had very little money, so not much in the way of mattresses and blankets could be provided. Even so, there was almost no complaining from the students.

On one occasion, Booker was traveling on a train in Georgia when he saw the two ladies from Boston who had been such great contributors to Tuskegee. Being ignorant to the ways of the south, they invited him to come sit with them. Booker hesitated but finally sat. They then ordered supper for all three of them. Booker tried to find an excuse to leave, but finally decided to just stay there. After the meal (which felt like the longest meal of his life) Booker went into the smoking-room where he was surprised by many men from Georgia coming up to him and introducing themselves to him. They said that they were very thankful to him for the work he was trying to do in the South.

Few of the students at Tuskegee had experience with carpenter's tools, but Booker still insisted that they make their own furniture, to a degree. At first, things were very unstable and many things broke. Booker said that at the present time of the book, the students still made their own furniture, and not many flaws could be found in it.

Another rule at Tuskegee was the importance of the toothbrush. Every student was to have their own and it was to be used on a regular basis. Booker feels that almost all of the students got into the habit so well that if they lost their toothbrush, they would go out and buy another one.

Booker is very proud of the lessons that have been handed down from year to year. He thinks that the students have done a very good job of teaching students younger than them the importance of these lessons.

After a while, space at Tuskegee got very tight, especially for the girls, and it was decided that another building was needed. It would provide living quarters for girls and boarding area for both sexes. The plans were drawn up and it was decided that the building would cost about ten thousand dollars. They had no money, but just in case they proceeded to build, the students began digging out dirt to allow the laying of the foundation.

They had no idea how they would get the money to erect the new building when Booker got a telegram from General Armstrong. It asked Booker to come traveling with him for a month through the North. If he could do so, he was to come to Hampton immediately.

When Booker got to Hampton, he found out that General Armstrong had decided to take a quartet of singers and hold meetings at important cities. In these meetings, they were to speak in the interests of Tuskegee.

Booker has never thought of himself as a beggar and hopes he never will. He has gone to many places asking for money, but none had the fine and Christlike spirit as the city Boston. Not to say everyone in Boston is that way. There just seems to be an exceptional number of people like that there.

One time, Booker went to go see a gentleman about getting a donation. Booker went two miles through the rain to see him and talked to him for quite some time. The man did not give a donation and Booker was somewhat disappointed. Two years later, Booker got a check for ten thousand dollars from this man. This was the largest single donation that the school has ever gotten.

At one time, the school was in great need of a library. Booker wrote to Andrew Carnegie explaining his problem. He asked Mr. Carnegie if he would provide Tuskegee with the money to build a library costing about twenty thousand dollars. Carnegie agreed and said it would be an honor to show his interest in Booker's cause.

Mr. Morris K. Jesup, the treasurer of the Slater Fund, from which Tuskegee has received a notable amount of money, is held very high in Booker's eyes. He gives not only his money but his time and effort towards the proper method of elevating the Negro. He is one of the reasons that industrial education has assumed the importance that it has.

Soon after a boarding department was opened at Tuskegee, there were many students applying that had almost no money at all. Tuskegee then opened a night school much like the one that Booker taught at Hampton. The students had to work on a trade for ten hours a day and then go to night school for two hours at night. The students were very diligent at both their trade work and school work. They were paid just over the cost for board. Most of that was put in the school's treasury to be used for paying board in regular day-school once they entered that department.

In 1889, Miss Olivia Davidson, after her marriage to Booker years earlier, died. Booker and her had two boys during their marriage, Booker Taliaferro and Ernest Davidson. One day, after hearing Booker speak with General Armstrong, the Hon. Thomas W. Bicknell invited Booker to come deliver an address at the next meeting of the National Education Association. This was the beginning of Booker’s public speaking career. To the surprise of many Southerners, Booker gave credit to the South for all the praiseworthy things that it had done. Many people expected him to verbally bash the South, which he did not do in the least. He did point out some of the faults of the South, but did not give it anything else besides constructive criticism.

As demands for Booker to come and speak increased, he tried to do as much as he could. Tuskegee, though, came first and most of his public speaking revolved around it. One day, Booker was asked to deliver an address at the opening of the Atlanta Cotton states and International Exposition. He made such an impact that he later got a telegram from prominent citizens in Atlanta asking him if he would accompany a committee from Atlanta to Washington, D. C., to appear before a committee of Congress in the interest of securing Government help for the Exposition. Booker was one of three black people on the committee. He was also the last one to speak. He made what he and the others was a very good address and was part of the reason the committee made a unanimous in making a favorable report to Congress on the topic. A few days later the bill passed through Congress.

Soon after that, the directors of the Exposition decided that it would be fitting to erect a large, attractive building devoted wholly to showing the progress of the Negro since freedom. Even though many people didn’t like it, it was decided on to have a Negro speak at the opening of this building. Booker was chosen as this person. This bore heavily on his shoulders because he knew that many people would be looking at him and waiting for him to mess up and say the wrong thing. It was also a burden because he knew that he had to be true to his race, but the decision on whether a black man would give an address such as that again would depend on what he did.

Booker did not sleep much the night before his address. The next morning, a committee escorted him to his place in a procession that would march to the Exposition grounds. Booker noted that all the officials seemed to go out of their way to make sure that the colored people in the procession were properly placed and properly treated. When they arrived at the Exposition grounds, Booker was very hot and very nervous. The weather had been especially scorching, and that combined with Booker’s nervousness made him feel like he was going to collapse.

Many people had many different ideas about what Booker was going to say. Many people that knew him were praying that he would deliver a well-received address. Mr. William H. Baldwin, Jr., one of Booker’s personal friends, was so nervous about Booker’s address that he walked back and forth in the grounds outside until the opening exercises were over.

When Booker stood up to make his speech, the thing that was on his mind the most was the desire to cement friendship of the races and bring about cooperation among them. In his speech, Booker emphasized the importance of industrial education. Also, although not directly, I think that he said that the Negroes and whites are going to have to work together and get rid of any color barrier that exists if they want to make the world a totally equal place for everyone. He expressed the idea in which he thought that the Negro will have to start at the bottom if they want to work their way up. They can’t start at the top wanting to have a seat in Congress. They will first have to see the need and sought real estate and industrial skill. Over all, though, he expressed the need for unity among the races if the South was to become a better place.

Everyone that heard his speech loved it. They thought it was very influential and very much from the heart. Many people came after him to write and speak for them. He refused and said that his life’s work was with Tuskegee and that that was where he needed to stay. He sent a copy of the address to the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland. Cleveland sent him a letter back saying that his words were very inspirational, and it would be very surprising to him if the address did not give any colored person who read it a new determination to gain every valuable advantage offered them by their citizenship.

After a while, many colored people began to feel as though Booker had been too liberal in his remarks toward the Southern whites. They also felt that he had not spoken out strongly enough about the "rights" of colored people. Later, though, the people who thought that seemed to be won over by Booker’s way of believing and acting.

Booker later expressed his opinion about colored ministers. He thought that most of them were uneducated and incompetent. This did not go over well in the spiritual world this most of the colored ministers. Later, though, it was revealed that Booker’s theories were correct. After that, no one held a grudge against him for his accusations. In fact, some of his warmest friends are clergymen.

One day, Booker got a letter from D. C. Gilman asking him if he would like to be one of the Judges of Award in the Department of Education at Atlanta. Booker was even more surprised at this request than the one to speak at the Exposition. He accepted and was later unanimously elected to be Secretary of his division. Booker went on to say that the right to vote is a great privilege that is very influential. He believes that any person who is poverty stricken and ignorant should not be allowed to vote. He believes that there should be a property or education test (or a combination of both) to determine whether a person should vote. In any case, he said, the test or tests should be made to apply equal and exact justice to both races.

After Booker’s speech, which was overall very well received by the audience, Booker did accept some of the invitations that he got to come speak in public. Booker felt bad sometimes because people came to see him speak. He was glad that they wanted to hear what he had to say, but he felt bad that they were, as Booker put it, wasting a valuable hour of time.

Booker always thought that a speaker did himself and his audience an injustice if he spoke just to speak. If he didn’t have a message to put tell everyone who wanted to hear him, then he didn’t need to be speaking. Booker likes to speak to just about anyone, but the kind of people he enjoys speaking to most are strong, wide-awake business men. Even so, Booker said one of the worst tortures is to have to sit with those same men through a long dinner before speaking, wondering the whole time if his speech is going to flop.

After business men, Booker liked to speak to Southern people, of either race. He liked all the "amens" and "dat’s da truf" that came out of the audience. He enjoyed the way that they really got into what was being said.

About three years before this book was written, the trustees of the John F. Slater Fund voted a sum of money to be used in paying the expenses of Booker and Mrs. Washington while holding a series of meetings among the colored people in large centers of Negro population. While doing this, Booker was able to get first-hand, accurate information on the real condition of the Negro race.

Early in 1897 Booker received an invitation to give an address at the dedication of the Robert Gould Shaw Monument in Boston. Booker accepted this invitation. In this address, Booker gave praise to all the soldiers that fought in the Fifty-fourth Regiment and to all the black soldiers that have ever fought or died for the United States.

After that Booker was invited to give an address at in Chicago celebrating the close of the Spanish American War. One part of Booker’s speech in Chicago seemed to be misunderstood by part of the Southern press. When asked to explain what he meant, Booker simply stated that he would never say something to a Northern audience that he wouldn’t be willing to say to a Southern one. He said that he didn’t think an explanation was needed, but if seventeen years of work in the heart of the South had not been explanation enough, he didn’t see how words could explain. This seemed to satisfy his critics.

Booker thinks that it is very important to keep the body healthy. He also believes that it is very important to get one day’s work done before you start the next day. Booker is often asked how he has time to do everything. He says that he has learned to be able to take fifteen or twenty minute naps, wake up, and be totally refreshed in mind and body. When Booker does get free time away from speaking and Tuskegee, he likes to spend it with his three children, Portia, Booker, and Davidson. He likes to read them a story or take turns telling stories. Sometimes they like to go into the woods where it is peaceful, and no one can disturb them. There, they like to just sit and take a true rest by enjoying nature. Booker says that he pities the person who does not learn to enjoy nature and get strength and inspiration from it.

Booker says that he doesn’t really care for games. Except for an occasional game of old-fashioned marbles with his sons, he never plays them. He thinks that he would probably see more enjoyment or purpose in games if he had had more time to play them as a child, but that wasn’t possible.

In 1893, Booker married Miss Margaret James Murray. The two were very much alike because they were both very dedicated to Tuskegee. One time, after delivering a speech, some people noticed that Booker seemed very tired. One woman asked him if he had ever been to Europe. He answered that he hadn’t, and they asked him if he had ever thought about going. He said that he never had. In past times he had thought of Europe, London, and Paris much as he thought of Heaven. The conversation that he had with that woman soon passed out of his mind. He and Mrs. Washington were informed some days later that a sum of money was being raised to pay for their expenses for three or four months in Europe. Booker was very reluctant to leave Tuskegee, but he was soon informed that Henry L. Higginson and some other people were raising a sum of money to cover Tuskegee’s expenses while Booker was gone. Finally, Booker had no other excuses and decided to go.

On the trip there, and for a month after they were in Europe, Booker slept for fifteen hours a day. It was then that he realized how tired he really was. It felt strange to him not having to get up at a certain time and catch a train anywhere.

While they were in Paris, they saw a good deal of the American Negro painter, Henry C. Tanner, who they had formally known in America. It pleased Booker to see how successful he was, and that when people saw his paintings, they saw a painting, period. Not a painting by a Negro.

In London Booker met Mark Twain for the first time. Booker was convinced that in many ways, the English were ahead of the United States. He noticed that the servants there were just that, and they tried to perfect their profession. In the United States a servant was a servant for a while but expected to be a master in a few years.

While they were in Paris Booker received invitations from the citizens of Charleston, West Virginia, and the City Council of Charleston asking him to come visit Charleston and speak to the people there. Booker was very surprised and touched by this. He accepted these invitations. The reception was held at the Opera-House at Charleston and the audience was composed of both races. After that, Booker received many more invitations of this sort, but could not accept but some of them.

Six months before General Armstrong died, he expressed a wish to see Tuskegee again before he died. He had been stricken with paralysis and was practically helpless. When he came, his carriage drove between two rows of students and teachers who were all holding torches in honor of General Armstrong.

Booker says that the greatest surprise was when he got a letter from Charles W. Eliot at Harvard University saying that Harvard wanted to give Booker an honorary degree and asking him to attend the ceremony at which they were giving several honorary degrees. Of course, Booker accepted and went to the ceremony. People receiving degrees along with him were General Nelson A. Miles, Alexander Grahmm Bell, Bishop Vincent, and the Reverend Minot J. Savage. Booker was the first black man ever to receive an honorary degree from Harvard. It was written later that except for General Miles, a war hero, Booker received the loudest cheering and applause out of all of the people.

Booker made a secret resolution to himself at one time to have the President of the United States come and visit Tuskegee. He finally started trying to reach this goal when he wrote to President McKinley’s Secretary of State and told him his mission. He arranged for Booker to see President McKinley. He found out that the President might be attending a peace jubilee later, but nothing was definite. He later talked to McKinley again and found out that he was definitely going to Atlanta. At that meeting, McKinley decided to come visit Tuskegee. The whole town was ecstatic about the President coming. Many people told Booker that if there was anything they could do to help, just let them know.

After the President came and spoke at Tuskegee’s large, new chapel, Booker got letters from some of the people that came with President McKinley saying that there wasn’t anything that he could have done better.

Since the start of Tuskegee, Booker has tried to impress upon his students the importance of moral, academic, and religious well-being. He hopes that the people that go to Tuskegee will have a positive influence on anyone that they are around.

Booker says in closing that there was never a time where he felt more hopeful for his race. When writing this, he is in Richmond, which, a few decades ago (from then), was the capital of the Southern Confederacy. And where, about twenty-five years ago Booker slept under a sidewalk because he had no money for a place to stay.

This time, he is a guest of the colored people of Richmond, who invited him there to give an address. At this address to hundreds of colored people, many distinguished white citizens, the City Council, the State Legislature, and state officials, Booker thanked both races for the welcome back to the state that gave him birth.