Name: Up from Slavery
Author: Booker T. Washington
ISBN: 9780192823489

Up from Slavery

Booker T. Washington

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Author Description

For half a century from its publication in 1901 Up from Slavery was the best known book written by an African American. The life of ex-slave Booker T. Washington embodied the legendary rise of American self-made man, and his autobiography gave prominence for the first time to the voice of a group which had to pull itself up from nothing. From behind the mask of the humble, plainspoken schoolmaster come hints that reveal Washington as the ambitious and tough-minded analyst, a man who had to balance the demands of blacks with the constraints imposed on him by whites.

Menrva's Summary

THE THESIS

This autobiography investigates the trajectory of an individual rising from the conditions of enslavement to become a prominent educational leader and public figure in post-Civil War America. Booker T. Washington, a former slave and the founder of the Tuskegee Institute, utilizes his personal history to articulate a philosophy of self-reliance, industrial education, and racial uplift. The text serves as both a personal record and a strategic argument for the economic advancement of African Americans within the specific socio-political constraints of the late nineteenth-century United States.

THE SCOPE MAP

What You Will Find

Detailed accounts of the transition from enslavement to freedom during the Reconstruction era.
The foundational principles and administrative development of the Tuskegee Institute.
Primary source reflections on the racial tensions and political climate of the American South.

Scope Limits

The text does not provide an exhaustive history of the broader Civil Rights Movement beyond the author's specific sphere of influence.
The narrative intentionally omits certain private political maneuverings to maintain a specific public-facing persona.

THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE

Historians and scholars frequently cite this work as a foundational document for understanding the accommodationist approach to racial progress in the early twentieth century. Readers often note the accessible, plainspoken prose style that masks the complex political calculations inherent in the author's public life.

Page Count:
240

Publication Date:
1995-06-29

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

ISBN-10:
0192823485

ISBN-13:
9780192823489

Autobiography

Biography

History

Memoir

United States

Social Science

African Americans