Rebecca Moore

HIS104

Writing Assignment #1

February 10, 2014

Beginning Backwards

The South was left in near ruins after the Civil War ended in 1865, and as the smoke cleared, a new

South was slowly born from the rubble. The physical, economical, and emotional trauma aside, the

South had another big issue to contend with: the inclusion of thousands of newly freed black

Americans, struggling to live in the same war-torn space. Tension in the South from both sides of this

new racial war caused one of the biggest civil rights issues the United States has ever seen. In his 1895

speech, the “Atlanta Exposition Address”, African American leader Booker T. Washington proposed

that this conflict was caused in part by the black community “beginning backwards” in their path

towards integration and represented citizenship. The “Atlanta Exposition Address” reveals

Washington's ideas of both sides of the social conflict, and shows his view of the United States at the

time as a place that needed to make peace without conflict, and embrace friendship and humility to

resolve their differences in order to move onto a better future for all.

Washington's speech presents the idea that the freed blacks in the South began at the wrong end of their

new lives. He alludes to blacks desiring to immediately receive the same rights as their neighbors, and

instantly be able to place representatives in high positions in politics, despite the fact that prior to this

freedom they were considered property, thought of by many as lesser beings, and barely even human.

He seemed to be saddened by the fact that honest labor and secure financial footing were valued less

than a say in higher politics. He called his people “ignorant and inexperienced”, and laments the lack
respect for earning a good day's wage as a starting point to their new lives. Washington's argument

stresses that freed blacks should have started at the bottom, working hard for their bread, keeping a roof

over their families, and valuing these basic things preciously as they worked their way into society

(Nash, et. al. D-65).

Booker T. Washington repeats the phrase, “cast down you bucket where you are” several times in his

speech, encouraging to his listeners to ask for help, offer help when needed, and be at peace with all

around them. He extends this advice to the whites around them, as well, and seems to call for a

peaceful coexistence between the races as the key to integration. He calls for the whites to lose their

distrust of African Americans, and allow them to work and help in the recovery of the South and parts

beyond. Washington agrees that the races can remain separate socially, but like the fingers of a hand,

must work together for the good of the whole in economical aspects (Nash, et. al. D-65-66).

Washington's Address reveals some interesting insights into how he viewed the United States at the

time. He understood the importance of working hard, and earning one's place in the work force and in

society. He valued having a solid foundation more than frivolities, as evidenced in the statement, “the

opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory... is worth infinitely more than... to spend a dollar in an opera-

house”. Washington shows that the United States at the time was hard pressed for good jobs, and had a

rocky economic environment. He called people to focus on being employed and working hard to

remain so, and in the process, endearing themselves to the others around them (Nash, et. al. D-66).

Booker T. Washington preferred peaceful integration of the African Americans into the society of the

United States after the Civil War ended. In his speech, the “Atlanta Exposition Address”, Washington

revealed that the country at the time was far too focused on politics and rights, when the true focus

should have been on working hard and keeping the peace with those around them. The United States of
Washington's era was a tumultuous time for African Americans, and he encouraged them to work hard

and well, and begin from the bottom as they worked their way into American life, for the benefit of all.

Reference List

Nash, Gary B., et. al. (2007). The American People: Creating a Nation and a Society. New York,NY:

Longman/Pearson Learning Solutions.