Lauren Miller
Dr. Maggie Elmore
History 124AC
31 October 2017
Primary Source Analysis 2
In what ways did African Americans advocate for greater inclusion and equality in US society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? If African American leaders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries agreed on any one point, it would be thus: the problem of the times was the problem of race relations. W.E.B. DuBois called it the “problem of the color-line,” and Fredrick Douglass the “race problem,” but no matter the name, the plague of the period was the enmity between white Americans and black Americans (vii; 5). The Talented Tenth, however, did not always agree on how best to advocate for greater inclusion and equality for black people …show more content…
Unlike Washington, however, Douglass did not see social equality as something to cast to the wayside, but rather an ideal to strive for. In his 1890 speech at the Bethel Literary and Historical Society, a Washington, D.C. forum for the debate of racial issues, Douglass said that the “colored man will have to endure prejudice against his race and color,” as Washington described, but he believed this to be no reason “to vex and disturb the course of legislation,” because though prejudice shall always exist in many forms, it is still the responsibility of the government to “hold its broad shield over all and to see that every American citizen is alike and equally protected in his civil and personal rights” (15; 15-16). Douglass helped advocate for greater African American inclusion in elections and education by lobbying for legislation like the Federal Election Bill and the Blair Education Bill, and when these laws were not passed, he did not “[lose] either heart or hope,” nor did he abandon the Republican party or his faith in democracy, but rather redoubled his conviction, saying that through all the darkness in his life, he has always seen “the light gradually increasing… obstacles removed, errors corrected, prejudices softened, proscriptions relinquished, and [his] people advancing in all the elements that go …show more content…
DuBois was a first generation free born African American in 1868. He was raised in a fairly tolerant Massachusetts community and became the first black man in American history to earn a doctorate degree and doing so at Harvard, eventually going on to co-found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 (Elmore, Oct. 19). His post-reconstruction work has caused him to be considered by leading scholars as the most important intellectual in United States history, his writing lamenting the struggle of being deeply American but deeply scorned by America (Elmore, Oct.
Dr. Maggie Elmore
History 124AC
31 October 2017
Primary Source Analysis 2
In what ways did African Americans advocate for greater inclusion and equality in US society in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? If African American leaders in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries agreed on any one point, it would be thus: the problem of the times was the problem of race relations. W.E.B. DuBois called it the “problem of the color-line,” and Fredrick Douglass the “race problem,” but no matter the name, the plague of the period was the enmity between white Americans and black Americans (vii; 5). The Talented Tenth, however, did not always agree on how best to advocate for greater inclusion and equality for black people …show more content…
Unlike Washington, however, Douglass did not see social equality as something to cast to the wayside, but rather an ideal to strive for. In his 1890 speech at the Bethel Literary and Historical Society, a Washington, D.C. forum for the debate of racial issues, Douglass said that the “colored man will have to endure prejudice against his race and color,” as Washington described, but he believed this to be no reason “to vex and disturb the course of legislation,” because though prejudice shall always exist in many forms, it is still the responsibility of the government to “hold its broad shield over all and to see that every American citizen is alike and equally protected in his civil and personal rights” (15; 15-16). Douglass helped advocate for greater African American inclusion in elections and education by lobbying for legislation like the Federal Election Bill and the Blair Education Bill, and when these laws were not passed, he did not “[lose] either heart or hope,” nor did he abandon the Republican party or his faith in democracy, but rather redoubled his conviction, saying that through all the darkness in his life, he has always seen “the light gradually increasing… obstacles removed, errors corrected, prejudices softened, proscriptions relinquished, and [his] people advancing in all the elements that go …show more content…
DuBois was a first generation free born African American in 1868. He was raised in a fairly tolerant Massachusetts community and became the first black man in American history to earn a doctorate degree and doing so at Harvard, eventually going on to co-found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 (Elmore, Oct. 19). His post-reconstruction work has caused him to be considered by leading scholars as the most important intellectual in United States history, his writing lamenting the struggle of being deeply American but deeply scorned by America (Elmore, Oct.