Up From Slavery Book Report

Up From Slavery is an autobiography of Booker T. Washington that was written in 1901. Washington is known for being a very inspiring African American during the Reconstruction period. His main focus is to help those who struggled to find their way in life and give them opportunities. Washington was for racial solidarity due to no support from the government, so instead he created a self-help program that promoted education for all African Americans. The autobiography starts out with explaining Washington’s life on the plantation and how he suffered due to the conditions he had to go through. He goes on to talk about all the important reasons why having family and home is way to reaffirm freedom. Once he was reunited with his family, he got involved in his education in which his mom was very supportive and helped with the cost. Washing struggled to earn enough money to pay for school as he attended Hampton University to receive an education. Washington, being a very intelligent man, was elected to teach local students about manual labor at a night school on …show more content…
Washington is not only a summary of his life, but serves a way to present his purpose during his time period. The book described Washington’s life to be hard and rough by growing up on a plantation and not knowing his exact birth date. He lived most of his life knowing more about plantation work and little about his parents until his schooling. Washington’s main goal was to serve African Americans through education. Washington said, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed” (Washington, Pg. 21). Through his struggles of paying for education as an African American during this time period, Washington is known as a leader in the movement for African American education for not only attending a University, but being the founder of Tuskegee