Booker T. Washington Self-Made Man Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Booker T. Washington Self-Made Man - Essay Example â€Å"No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.†Ã‚  (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 ca rrying 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 co uld not just rise out of the blue. They needed financial as well as other forms of social