HISTORY ASSIGNMENT
Questions about "Atlanta Exposition"
(Washington is speaking to a white audience at the Atlanta Exposition. This industrial show for the cotton industry had many exhibits of machinery and the other things needed in the cotton, cotton mill, and cottonseed industries. There was a "Negro Hall" with exhibits about lives and accomplishments of African Americans.)
i. What does Washington say about the immediate period after Emancipation ("In the first years of our new life...")? Why is he critical of former slaves who wanted to run for office?
ii. What do you think he meant by "Cast down your bucket where you are?"
iii. What do you think he would say to southern African Americans who wanted to move away from the South?
iv. Washington says that African Americans need to learn to dignify and glorify common labor. How do you think enslaved people would have felt about this statement? Why?
v. What comparisons does Washington make between African Americans and immigrants? Why do you think he is making these comparisons?
vi. Washington claims that African Americans have proven their loyalty to white southerners in the past. What evidence does he give, and do you believe this is an accurate portrayal of the master/slave relationship? Why or why not?
Questions about "W.E.B. DuBois Denounces..."
i. What do you think DuBois meant when he talks about the country being "ashamed of having bestowed so much sentiment on the Negroes..?"
ii. He claims that Washington's argument silenced, if not converted, Negroes. Do you think many African Americans actually were converted to Washington's ideas? Why or why not? If they did not, why would they choose to remain silent?
iii. Why do you think he refer to Washington's followers as a "cult?"
iv. What three things does DuBois say Washington is asking African Americans to give up, and what does he say are the results?
v. Which of the three "paradoxes" of Washington's career do you think DuBois makes the best argument about? Why?
vi. DuBois writes about Toussaint the Savior (he was the leader o the Haitian Revolution), Gabriel (he led an attempted slave rebellion in 1800 in Virginia, Denmark Vesey (led an attempted slave rebellion in South Carolina in 1822), and Nat Turner (he led a slave rebellion in 1831, in Virginia, killing 60 whites). Do you think he advocating violence? Why or why not?
vii. What does DuBois say about US imperialism? (Hawaii, West Indies, Philippines)
Questions comparing both selections:
i. Washington says that the "wisest" African Americans realize that asking for and agitating for civil equality is "folly." How does he justify that statement? DuBois argues that the North was weary of the "race problem" in the South. Based on what we have covered in class, how are both of these positions connected to changes in the Republican Party?
ii. DuBois asks if African American men can really be successful if they are deprived of their civil and political rights. Washington argues that they must earn those rights. Who makes the most compelling argument? Explain why you came to that conclusion.
iii. DuBois says that some African Americans think the only hope of equality is to leave the United States. Washington argues that the best hope for equality is to cooperate or accommodate with whites. Which do you think is the more radical position? Can leaving the US be seen as "selling out" or "giving up?" Is staying and trying to get along until whites finally recognize the rights of African Americans likely to be more successful?
Format your assignment according to the give formatting requirements:
a. The answer must be double spaced, typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
b. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the course title, the student's name, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
c. Also include a reference page. The references and Citations should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.
Reference
"Atlanta Exposition Address" (1895) by Booker T. Washington
"W.E.B. DuBois Denounces Washington's Accommodationist Policies" (1903).