Ben Bradshaw Blue group US History essay 10/3/13 After reconstruction, all eyes were focused on African American

equality. People were wondering how African Americans could get to the same financial and social powers as whites. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois Stepped up to the challenge. Both of these men had radically different ideals, with Washington taking a more conservative and self-reliant approach and Dubois taking an approach commonly understood as more radical and government-oriented approach. Booker T Washingtons idea for the most effective path to racial equality lay in hard work and making money. Washington thought that equal rights couldnt be achieved due to the fact that many African Americans were poor and uneducated. He proposed that African Americans continued to work for white southerners, and white southerners chose African American laborers over Immigrants for their employees. When African Americans gained privileges of the law, Washington wanted them to be
prepared for the exercise of these privileges, In order to utilize them to their fullest effect. The other point of hard work was to prove their usefulness and responsibility to whites. Washington also believed that the government should help African Americans get an industrial education. W.E.B Dubois did not take the same sentiment as Washington, as he figured that nobody human should have to prove that they deserve basic civil rights. Dubois wants African American rights as quickly as possible. His plan also involves the government stepping up and being more supportive of African Americans getting government jobs. Governmental action was necessary to achieve the goals Dubois strived for, such as voting rights and education. As he explains in his book, The Souls of Black Folk: The power of the ballot we

need in sheer self-defense, - else what shall save us from a second slavery? It is also worth noting that Dubois wants African Americans guaranteed an Academic education as opposed to an Industrial one.

If these strategies were to be compared in the context of the present, it would seem like an obvious answer that Dubois plan is more effective, because weve seen that those same demands for social rights were necessary in the 1950s civil rights movements. However, his plan did have a shortcoming. It would no doubt take time for African Americans to get government jobs and rights. Until then, African Americans would still be struggling and accumulating financial disadvantage through the vicious cycles of sharecropping and tenant farming. Washingtons plan was indeed conservative compared to that of Dubois, but it was also a little more practical, focusing more on the problems African Americans have in the present and trying to solve those before looking ahead. His plan did have a weakness in that he placed a lot of trust in the white population, decidedly thinking that civil rights would miraculously be granted if African Americans worked hard enough. He also trusted that white employers wouldnt take advantage of the workers and trap them in a system of sharecropping.

The struggle for racial equality has been a very long and complex part of our history that is still occurring today. For this reason, its important to look back at these figures and learn from the past. Racial equality is not only a social issue, but it is also an Economical one. There is no simple way to quickly attain racial equality. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois have many differing views and opinions, but both of these men have taught us that persistence is the path to victory. Whether through hard work or consistent demanding, both plans shared the common theme of never giving up, and I think its important to remember that as our nation continues on its struggle to equality.