The Souls of Black Folk (chap 3-4) Lit.

In W.E.B. Du Bois’ book, The Souls of Black Folk, he discusses African American’s role in the United States and how they are viewed by society. The thoughts of this book takes place after the civil war, when slaves were free and now have a way of life. Blacks fought for their freedom in the Civil War, whether they were soldiers or help with war supplies and ammunition. Also, he talks about the thoughts of Booker T. Washington and his take on the African American lives. Washington believes black people should give up three things: political power, insistence on civil rights, and a higher education of Negro youth.

I somewhat agree with Washington’s theory. Though I don’t believe in the way it was said. Blacks never gave up and they fought for what they believed in. When Du Bois says Washington distinctively asks black people to “give up”, it gives black people no hope for these things. Yet, later in the paragraph it says that even though we gave up those things, we still gained in return. We gained “the disfranchisement of the Negro, the legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro, and the steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro.

Though African Americans males were able to vote their vote was less effective than a white males vote. Washington maybe was trying to make a point saying that African Americans won the right to vote, but it really doesn’t count as anything. He might not have wanted Blacks to get worked up and think they won the fool privilege when they really didn’t.

After the civil war, blacks were actually counted as a whole citizen, not just three-fifths of a person. Washington says that Blacks have won a status of civil weakness. Whites treated blacks like garbage and even after the civil war, they were treated the same. The Civil war never really won them any citizenship. Blacks were still viewed as weak in the American Society.

Africans Americans were looking for a way of education and it was hard for them to find it. It has actually always been hard for Blacks to get an education. No white man wanted to see a black person smarter than them. They made it hard for them to seek and education. Some African Americans won an education through the civil war but it wasn’t for all. There were not many schools that would accept blacks.

W.E.B. Du Bois incorporated some of Booker T. Washington’s thoughts into his book which really gave different points of views. Washington makes good points. I never looked at it that way. He tries to protect his fellow Americans by not letting them get their hopes up on something that may take a while to achieve.