Analysis of Self-Made Man Book by Booker T. Washington - Essay Example

23 May Assignment In American history, some of the most profound men that have influenced and led the country to greater heights are thosethat have come from humble and the most simple of backgrounds. One such intellectual, Booker T. Washington of African American descent has been able to tell the world his story about being at the receiving end of discrimination based on race in the country and how he was able to climb up the social ladder and gain repute, through his autobiography Up From Slavery. Till the year 1915, he dominated the African American community as he was extremely significant and persuasive as the representative leader of the black community, mostly in the southern parts of America. In his book, fifteen of the most crucial years of his life have been written about from the manual labor that he was forced into doing, to the education that he received and then later imparted to other people by motivating himself to stand up for the rights of the people in the country as well as all over the world. “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” (Washington, Booker T) Washington was able to help those that were discriminated, especially in regaining their rights to vote. He was known as the ‘Tuskegee Machine’ by those that opposed his actions and resented power to the blacks because according to such people, blacks were only meant to be slaves for their thinking was too narrow to allow more communities of people to live in harmony with one another. However, through his speeches and lectures, he was able to help a large number of people understand the ill associated with slavery and thus gain the support of white people belonging to affluent families, black people engaged in the business or working class in society, religious and educational institutions and leaders belonging to the two sects. By mustering so much support, he gained power and was able to inspire many African Americans into carrying out new jobs, taking to entrepreneurship, assisting them in mainly climbing the social and financial ladder by emerging out of the depression that slavery had created in their lives by creating happiness for them and thus educating them about the power of being self-reliant instead of depending on others for their livelihoods. He was of the impression that race discrimination mainly existed because of the lack of education among African Americans; they were completely stripped of their rights because of pressure from white people to work as slaves and earn very little or no amount money to sustain their lives as well as those of their families’. Washington was able to gather support as well as philanthropic donations and funds from influential people and set up many societies in the agricultural as well as production sector, helping the slaves to rise from their positions. He helped in educating them so that they could lead a better lifestyle and earn money rather than being dominated and treated like servants. His main aim was to help them from the drudgery that they were stuck in and bring them to par with the white people; his personal life story, as depicted in his book, was thus a wonderful example for people to follow and live by, as a story of hard work and diligence and thus is known as a ‘self-made’ man. Another well-known figure in the past of American philanthropy and sociological thinking is Jane Addams, responsible for reforming America during the Progressive Era and pioneering work in the field of women’s rights including their right to vote and to be able to gain access to a healthier standard of life, especially for mothers and their children. Addams did state that women and men alike needed to be self-reliant and self-made and not dependent on other people for their living, however she was skeptical regarding Washington’s demands because according to her people belonging to the lower rungs of society could not just rise out of the blue. They needed financial as well as other forms of social assistance and need to be helped up the rungs of the ladder on the path to becoming self-reliant and self-sufficient. Thus, her brainchild was the establishment of the Hull House along with Ellen Gates Starr where immigrants from countries like Europe could achieve social and educational opportunities which they were deprived of due to being a part of the working class. Immigrants often had a very difficult time adjusting to the life in America and they were not accepted by many communities as well, thus in order to help uplift them, Addams designed the Hull House which assisted in providing recreational activities for social, educational as well as religious purposes in order to give the working class society a push and inspire them into taking their lives into their own hands. According to her mission, she was of the impression that is people were happy with their social and educational lives, then they could take control of their careers and livelihoods; if they suffered from bad relationships with others and were socially excluded from carrying out activities, then they would forever remain devoid of any opportunities. Instead of thus discriminating against people belonging to different races, communities and countries, it was important to help them, inspire them and lead them towards the path of being self-reliant. The main objective of the Hull House thus was to encourage the path of success for a class of people that could have never imagined living a creative and possibly self-endearing lifestyle. Addams’ book entitled A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil talks about the life of the people living in the Hull House; particularly about the young girls belonging to the working class immigrant society that fell prey to the hands of slave traders and sexual abusers in the country at the time. Since she was more of an advocate of women’s rights and women’s freedom, she helped women regain control of their lives by providing them shelter and comfort at the Hull House. In her book, she talks about the importance of education among young girls and how important it is to teach them that wages cannot just be earned by selling their bodies for sexual favors to men. Most women feel that prostitution is the key to earning quick wages and thus engage in such activities without realizing what they have done to their own dignities. Addams’ Hull House has thus been able to uplift women from the darkest times of their lives and educate them about the evils of prostitution and sex trafficking. Her goal was to bring about a radical social change that would help women feel as free as young men would and this could only be brought about by spreading awareness. Most of these young girls did not have the money or the means to survive in big cities where they had immigrated to and in New Jersey, where the Hull House neighborhood had been established, working class girls were better prepared to meet the dangerous men lurking in the city looking to exploit them. She writes, “Nowhere is woman treated according to the merit of her work, but rather as a sex. It is therefore almost inevitable that she should pay for her right to exist, to keep a position in whatever line, with sex favors. Thus it is merely a question of degree whether she sells herself to one man, in or out of marriage, or to many men.? (sic)” (Addams, Jane) The Hull House thus was the centre for inspiring and motivating the urban poor and immigrant parts of society by teaching them, cooperating with them and their needs as well as practicing social democracy with them by providing them with social, civil as well as recreational activities and giving them opportunities to be at par with the rest of the country. A settlement house organized on the lines of a space for both working and carrying out recreational activities, the Hull House, even today, is a symbol of respect and true mark of compassion and benevolence for those that actually need help. Since the working class of society was always shunned from the richer classes, more so the women, it was important to give them a chance at making their own stories of success. Furthermore, since they often faced social exclusion and were dominated by the higher rung of society, they were at a loss to uplift them and thus Addams enquired into their lives and assisted them in climbing up the social ladder. She therefore insisted on creating chances for such sections of people rather than leaving them on their own to fend for themselves. The latter would often lead such classes of people reeling in poverty and thus in order to make the country a more productive and better place, it was important to assist these sections of society in realizing and achieving their goals and dreams, rather than spending all the time and energy on the rights and freedom of those that already had access to the same. Works Cited Washington, Booker T. Up From Slavery. Dover Publications, 1995. Print. Addams, Jane. A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil,. New York: Macmillan, 1912. Print. Read More