UP FROM THE SLAVERY

**********How did Washington describe the Reconstruction period and his time in
Washington D. C.? What parts of this
chapter would have pleased most white readers when it was first published? How is his description of Reconstruction
different from what you learned in lecture? 80-91

10)
What were Washington’s first speaking engagements, as described in this
chapter? How did he describe his time at
Hampton working with Indians and with the night-school? What did he think of Indians? 92-105

11)
Why did Washington go to Tuskegee, and how did he describe life among the
people there? What challenges did he
have to overcome in Chapter VII, and how did he do it? 106-117

12)
What, according to Washington, were the various attitudes toward the opening of
the school, and why? What were the
faults and virtues of the students? How
did Miss Davidson assist him? 118-132

13)
In Chapter IX, how did Washington get local people to support the development
of Tuskegee? How did he and Miss
Davidson manage to build up the school throughout this chapter? Why were these
“sleepless nights” for Washington?
133-147

14)
Why did Washington argue it was so important to have the students build the
school, and why did he focus on brickmaking in particular? What other progress was made in developing
the school in this chapter? 148-162

15)
For what reasons did Washington praise General Armstrong and the toothbrush in
this chapter? Do you think they deserved
the praise? 163-176
16)
Re-read the passage that begins with “From his example in this
respect…” (bottom p. 164) and including the next two paragraphs, ending
with “…ignorance from the South” (p. 166). What was Washington trying to say here? How could this be interpreted differently by
black and white readers at the time?
164-166

17)
How did General Armstrong come to Washington’s aid, again, in Chapter XII? How did Washington describe his efforts to
raise money throughout this chapter?
What lessons did he learn in the process of this work? 177-195

18)
How did Washington describe life at Tuskegee and his public speaking at Madison
and in the five-minute speech? How might
the sentence at the top of page 201 sum up Washington’s strategy with the
entire book? 196-205
19)
Why did Washington travel to DC?
Summarize the series of events that conclude this chapter. Why does Washington create such a dramatic
build-up here? 205-216

20)
Analyze the Atlanta Exposition Address.
What were his messages to black people and white people? Why did he tell each group to “cast down
your bucket where you are”? How
does he describe black people to white people?
And be sure to explain the bit about the fingers and the hand. What do you think of the Address? 217-225
21)
How did Washington describe the various reactions to the Address? How did he explain his views on political
issues in the last four pages of the chapter, and what are the differences from
what he said in the Address? 225-237

22)
How did Washington describe his skill as a public speaker? What were the most important speeches he
described in this chapter, and why?
238-258
23)
How did he continue his work at Tuskegee while traveling so much? How did he describe his work life and his
family life (also at the beginning of the next chapter)? What do you think drove him? 258-270

24)
How did the trip to Europe come about?
What parts of Europe did he visit, who did he meet, how was he received,
etc.? How was his trip? 270-292

25) Describe Armstrong’s visit, Washington’s
honorary Harvard degree, and the visit from President McKinley. Why were each of these so important to
Washington? 293-310
26)
How did Washington describe the progress in the twenty years since Tuskegee
opened and the other work that he had done?
How impressive do you find all this to be? 311-319

27) What did you think of this book overall and what did you
learn from it? Would you recommend other
students in the course choose it as an option, and why?

Bonus! (+15 Points)
You can only answer these questions if
you completed Up From Slavery!

Visit http://www.bartleby.com/114/3.html
and read a chapter from W. E. B. Du Bois 1903 classic Souls of Black Folk, where he takes on Washington.

28) How did Du Bois account for Washingtons rise to
prominence? How did both whites and
blacks view Washington?
29) Why was Du Bois so critical of Washington? How did he think Washingtons efforts were detrimental to the
civil rights struggle? What program did
Du Bois suggest instead?
30 Based on the readings, how would you compare the two
mens views? Be as thorough as
possible. Who do you find yourself
agreeing with more, and why?

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