Up from Slavery chronicles Booker T. Washington's journey from slavery to becoming an influential educator and civil rights activist. As a young boy, Washington worked hard labor jobs before gaining an education. He then founded the Tuskegee Institute to educate freed slaves in practical skills. Washington details the growth of Tuskegee from a shantytown to a large campus. He became a prominent national figure after his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech promoting racial uplift through education and vocational skills. The autobiography advocates Washington's approach of accommodating whites while economically advancing blacks through education.

1. Up from Slavery
By Booker T Washington

2. Summary
During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African
Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial
improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality. This
approach, however, died with Washington, and its success prior to 1915 was largely due to
Washington's adept method of tailoring his speaking and writing to suit the race of his audience.
During the years 1900-1901, Booker T. Washington began publishing Up from Slavery, a
serialized account of his life in the popular magazine Outlook, which reached a more diverse
audience. This account was then published as a book and in both forms it gained Washington
significant White support. In Up from Slavery, Washington traces his journey from slave to
educator. The early sections document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an
education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his
community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and
outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with
many new buildings. In the final chapters of Up From Slavery, Washington describes his career
as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the
Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure.
He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his
work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by
President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong

3. Up from Slavery chronicles over fifty years of Washington's life: from slave to
schoolmaster to the face of southern race relations. In this text, Washington
climbs the social ladder through hard, manual labor, a decent education, and
relationships with great people. Throughout the text, he stresses the
importance of education on the black population as a reasonable tactic to
ease race relations in the South. The book is in essence Washington's
traditional, non-confrontational message supported by the example of his
life.
Plot

4. Booker Taliaferro Washington - This person was born a slave just
before the Civil War and chose a last name in school. This individual
has a thirst for knowledge and, as a young person, worked in salt
furnaces and coal mines.
General Samuel S. Armstrong - This influential, dedicated person is a
source of inspiration to the main character. This individual never
ceases to work for the betterment of fellow blacks and is just as
interested in helping the poor whites in the South.
Miss Mary F. Mackie - This person is a head teacher who offers the
main character the position of janitor. This individual's advice and
encouragement are always welcomed by the main character.
John - The main character's older sibling, this person scrapes
together money to support the family and help send the younger
sibling to school.
Mrs. Ruffner -She was the wife of the owner of the salt mine where
Booker worked in Malden, West Virginia. She became a valuable
friend who taught him a great deal about cleanliness and the
dignity of work when he took a position in her home.
Character Descriptions

5. Mama - Although unable to read, this person gives the main character a book.
To feed the family, this person steals a chicken.
Miss Olivia A. Davidson - Co-teacher with the main character, this person was
born and schooled in Ohio but went to the South because of the need for
teachers there.
Miss Viola Ruffner - The main character is under this person's employ, earning
five dollars a month and getting permission to attend some school.
Fannie M. Smith - This person is the main character's first spouse. They are
married in the summer of 1882.
Rev. Robert C. Bedford - This person is the white pastor at a black church in
Montgomery, Alabama.
Lewis Adams - This person is a former slave who helps with the establishment of
the normal school in Tuskegee and is an expert at shoe making, harness making
and tinsmithing.
Mrs. S. Griffitts Morgan - This person from New Bedford, Massachusetts, pays the
main character's tuition at Hampton.