Analysis Of The Speech 'Atlanta Exposition' By Booker T. Washington

The speech “Atlanta Exposition” was written by Booker T Washington on September 18, 1895. Washington was a very influential African American in that time period, due to his influence as a leader and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. The intended audience during this time was the President of the United States and all people across the country. The main argument presented by Washington is that whites and blacks should focus on working together in order to better our society as a whole. He describes that if both sides come together, there would be more growth industrially and socially. Washington states, “Cast down your bucket where you are” cast it down in making friends, in every manly way, of the people of all races by whom we

are surrounded” (BTW pg 2). He was saying that we need to stop being so blind to what we do not want to see and just trust what each other is saying in order to come together.

While saying this he says that, “Not only this, but the opportunity here afforded will awaken among us a new era of industrial progress” (BTW pg 2). He thinks that if can achieve equality or at least treat each other better, it would thrust America into a more productive society. He was stating all of the positive qualities of the black community and the amount of help that they could bring to these communities. Only two years before this speech was given Ida B. Wells released a book about the reality of lynching and how many people were actually being killed. The years following before the speech was given there was a large number of lynchings still occurring around America and I believe this was a large reason that he gave this speech. He was also very smart with how he worded his speech so that he did not offend the audience, but rather try to relate and open their eyes with examples of how beneficial this idea would be. The speech was given in Atlanta Georgia in front of a predominantly white crowd in a “Cotton State” which was a big deal due to the racial tension in the south at the time. He presented this argument for two reasons. One was for the better treatment of his people, and the second was to help give more people here

work. In doing this he could try and ease the racial tension in the south and try to give blacks more financial opportunity that was difficult for them to come by. I think that Washington used Intuitive Thinking which is defined as “the ability to take what you may sense or perceive to be true and, without knowledge or evidence, appropriately factor it into the final decision” (Green 2). While he may have some knowledge of people, there is no possible way to say that every single people would act or accept this work or help like he is saying. One excerpt that he said was, “we shall stand by you Black Southerners Challenge White Supremacy with a devotion that no foreigner can approach, ready to lay down our lives, if need be, in defence of yours” (BTW pg 3). With all of the things going on at the time I think that it is hard to believe that africans would want to run to aid or work with whites. I think that using this style was very effective and the best choice because it was the best way to get his point across to the whites. The speech was very important for the country because we needed someone to take charge and try and make a connection between the two races, to show that they were not so different. One question that I would raise is, Why would he not be more harsh on the whites in this speech? I know it was hard at that time but it is difficult to not think about why he would not. Another question I raise is, Why would he compare the time when his people were slaves, to a reason that they should trust them to help?