Up from Slavery
Personal Life
Building a University
Farmers' Conferences
Tuskegee Institute
Tuskegee Students
Influential Spokesman
The Oaks
Overview Top
Booker Taliafero Washington rose from slavery to a position of power and influence. A realist and a man of action, he became one of the most important African-American leaders of his time. He was committed to improving the lives of African-Americans after the Civil War. Washington advocated economic independence through self-help, hard work, and a practical education. His drive and vision built Tuskegee into a major African-American presence and place of learning.
Up From Slavery Top
Washington was "born a slave on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia..." (Up From Slavery) in 1856. After emancipation, he and his family moved to Malden, West Virginia. The nearby Kanawha Sapines salt furnaces provided wage work for many freed slaves in West Virginia, including members of Washington's family. A prominent white family, the Ruffners, hired the young Washington as a domestic. Washington later said the lessons he learned from them were "... as valuable to me as any education I have gotten anywhere since."
The young Booker first went to school, not as a student, but to carry his young mistress' books to class. Later he attended night school while working in the salt furnace. Washington thought that getting an education was "about the same as getting into paradise."
In 1872 he enrolled at the Hampton Normal and Agricultural
Institute in Hampton, Virginia. The school trained former slaves
in the trades, industriousness, and thrift. An outstanding
student, Washington graduated at the top of his class, and then
taught in Malden and at Hampton.
He then married Olivia Davidson in 1885. A Hampton graduate,
Olivia was the assistant principal of Tuskegee. She had great
influence on Washington and the development of his Northern
philanthropic support. They had two sons, Booker T.
Washington, Jr. and Ernest Davidson Washington. Olivia died in
1889.
Washington then married Margaret James Murray in 1892. A
teacher, Margaret became the Lady Principal of Tuskegee after
Olivia's death. Margaret and Booker did not have children. In
addition to her professional role on campus, Margaret ran a
home for the entire Washington family at The Oaks. She died in
1925.
Washington was determined to bring the best
and brightest teachers to Tuskegee "not only
for the money but also their deep interest in
the race." Tuskegee embodied his total
commitment to learning, self-help, practical
training, and service to the community.
Teachers trained to work with rural communities to improve
farming, hygiene, and nutrition. Agricultural training provided
experience and food for the table. Students learned trades to
make them marketable and self-supporting. Tuskegee taught
"classroom education ...practical knowledge, industry, thrift,
and economy, that they (students) would be sure of knowing
how to make a living after they had left us."
Washington traveled extensively to
solicit funds. His achievements at
Tuskegee earned the articulate educator
widespread support. An assertive,
hands-on principal, Washington attended to every detail, from
overseeing faculty and students, to school publications. He
monitored the quality of instruction, inspected campus grounds
and buildings, and scrutinized students. Washington personally
made sure that Tuskegee maintained its excellent reputation.
Later, George Washington Carver, whom
Washington had hired as the Institute's
agricultural director, expanded the conference.
Farmers and their wives received specific
information on farming and nutrition. The
message was one of self-sufficiency,
self-improvement and agricultural diversification.
Carver saw some of his students only once a year. The part-time
students were the local farmers and their wives who attended the
annual Farmers' Conference. They shared successes and failures of
the previous growing year, toured the Experiment Station, and got
practical suggestions from Carver.
In 1904 Carver instituted the first "Short Course in Agriculture" in
conjunction with the Conference. The course provided intensive
agricultural training to full-time farmers for one week.
Adams, together with George Campbell, a former
slave owner, were responsible for bringing Booker
T. Washington to Tuskegee. Adams bought a
"good" horse, second hand lumber wagon, a
plow, harness, and feed for the school.
Using his outstanding fundraising capabilities and
negotiating skills, Washington purchased an
abandoned plantation of 1,000 acres. The plantation
became the nucleus of Tuskegee Institute and
Tuskegee University's present campus. By 1906,
the school had 156 faculty members, 1,590
students, and owned 2,300 acres of land. Although
Tuskegee Institute receives an appropriation from
the State of Alabama, the school remains a private
institution.
Washington brought the best African-American professionals to join
him in his life's work at Tuskegee. Botanist George Washington
Carver, Robert Taylor, the first black architect to graduate from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and David A. Williston, one
of the first black landscape architects in America, were faculty
members. Washington appointed highly skilled industrial instructors
to teach trades. Emmett Jay Scott became Booker T. Washington's
secretary in 1897. Scott became a close advisor to the man he
called 'the Wizard' and was instrumental in extending Washington's
power and influence.
In the late 1930s, the military selected Tuskegee to train
African-American pilots because of its committment to aeronautical
training. It had instructors, facilities, and a climate for year-round
flying.
In 1965, Tuskegee Institute was designated a national historic
landmark in recognition of its contributions and advancements in
education. Congress authorized the establishment of Tuskegee
Institute National Historic Site in 1974. The National Historic Site
includes The Oaks, Booker T. Washington's home, and the Carver
Museum.
Female students learned home economics, dressmaking and
weaving. They made brooms, rugs, hats, chairs, baskets, and
soap. For many years, the products of this practical training
dressed the students and furnished Tuskegee rooms.
Student teachers did practice teaching at the Children's House.
Built in 1901, it was the elementary school for children of
teachers and townspeople. Children learned gardening and
farming on the two acres around the house. Students were also
taught the basics of proper housework, including cooking and
gardening.
Bricklaying, a practical, productive skill, was
taught. The Tuskegee brickyard produced
enough bricks to sell the surplus to the
community and provide the school with an
income. Brick making, begun in 1883 was not
an instant success. Only after ruining many
bricks did the novice brick makers finally master the craft.
Tuskegee students used brick fired from clay dug on the
Tuskegee farm to erect many of the
school's buildings.
A broad range of mechanical industries were
taught, including electrical engineering,
carpentry woodworking, roofing, and printing.
The print shop served two purposes. It
provided training for students and supplied the
school with needed products.
Washington's controversial Atlanta Exposition speech in 1895
appeared to support separate development as a "necessary
condition for economic cooperation between the races." He said
"In all things that are purely social, we can be as separate as
the fingers, yet as one hand in all things essential to mutual
progress." The speech brought him fame as well as criticism.
Many believe that Washington's address laid the ground for
state supported segregation. Dedicated to the continued
existence of Tuskegee, Washington secretly supported many
black causes for equality. For Washington, education and hard
work led to economic independence, and then to political rights.
The former slave became a major political force. Many
considered him Frederick Douglass' heir. While politicians and
presidents sought him out, some in the African-American
community, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, criticized the extent and
use of his power and influence. President William McKinley
visited Tuskegee. In 1901, Washington dined at the White
House with President Theodore Roosevelt. He informally advised
Presidents Roosevelt and Taft.
Washington authored and coauthored many books that reflected
his ideas on education and society. Up From Slavery, his
autobiography written in 1900, has been translated into many
languages. It inspired oppressed peoples throughout the world.
He was awarded many honorary degrees, including degrees
from Harvard and Dartmouth Universities. The American people
recognized his extraordinary achievements with a
commemorative US postage stamp in 1940; in 1956 when his
birthplace became Booker T. Washington National Monument;
and again in 1974, when his residence at Tuskegee Institute,
The Oaks, became part of the NPS Tuskegee Institute National
Historic Site. The Oaks, "a large comfortable home," was built for Washington and his
family. They moved into the house in 1900. Washington lived there until
his death in 1915. His widow, Margaret, lived at The Oaks until her death
in 1925. Most furnishings were made by local craftsmen and students, and
were acquired between 1885-1889. The Queen Anne style red brick house,
with steam heating and electricity, was the first of its kind in Macon
County. The Washingtons visited Europe the year construction began. The
friezes in the parlor and library depict highlights of their trip. The
house had a parlor, library, dining room, den, kitchen, family and guest
rooms, breakfast room, five bathrooms, and veranda. The Oaks sat on three
acres of gardens, orchards, and pastures.
Tuskegee's 25th anniversary in 1906 brought
prominent people to The Oaks, including
Secretary of War William Howard Taft,
Harvard president Charles W. Eliot, and
philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The Oaks
housed a reception for President Theodore
Roosevelt and another for the wedding of
Washington's daughter, Portia.
After a grueling speaking tour, Washington was hospitalized in
New York City. Desparately ill with what some now believe to be
kidney failure and with a short time to live, he said, "I was born
in the South, I have lived and labored in the South, and I expect
to be buried in the South." He insisted on going home. On
November 14, 1915, Booker T. Washington died at his beloved
Tuskegee Institute.
Personal Life Top
Washington married three times. A private and complex man,
he had the trauma of losing two wives. He married one of his
Malden school pupils, Fanny Norton Smith in 1882. Their
daughter Portia was born in 1883. Fanny died in 1884.
Building a University Top
At 25, Washington was appointed principal of the newly
established "Tuskegee Normal School for colored teachers."
There were no buildings when he arrived. On July 4, 1881,
Washington held his first classes for thirty male and female
students in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church and a
shanty. The first permanent building was constructed a year
later. It was designed by African-American instructors and built
by African-American students, a tradition that would thrive at
Tuskegee. In 1885 the first students graduated.
Farmers' Conferences Top
Booker T. Washington sought new ways to
reach struggling local farmers. He believed that
with the right guidance, farmers could make
improvements, free themselves from debt, and
become land owners. Over 400 attended the
first Tuskegee Negro Conference in February
1892.
Tuskegee Institute Top
Lewis Adams, a former slave and successful
tradesman, was the founding force behind the
establishment of a school at Tuskegee. He made
a deal to deliver African-American voters in the
1880 election. In return, the Alabama legislature
passed a bill to "establish a Normal School for
colored teachers at Tuskegee." He insisted on
having an African-American principal and Booker
T. Washington was hired.
Tuskegee Students Top
Students were taught, in addition to their academic subjects,
skills in building construction, brick making, woodworking,
cooking, handicraft, agriculture, and the blacksmith trade.
Student life was regulated and controlled by separating activities
and training for men and women. Physical training was
encouraged. The Tuskegee doctrine of work required a healthy
body. Tuskegee also recognized the moral and spiritual value of
religious worship. Students attended daily non-denominational
chapel services.
Influential Spokesman Top
With mesmerizing oratory and an energetic speaking schedule,
Washington became a major spokesman for his people. A
skilled politician, he developed relationships with blacks, whites,
farmers and businessmen in the North and the South.
The Oaks Top
The Oaks was Washington's command center and Tuskegee
Institute's social center. The Oaks, Washington's home,
provided tangible evidence of his success. It was a place of
employment and an on-the-job training site for students.
African-American educators, businessmen, and farmers were
entertained there. Professional staff visited frequently. Faculty
members often called on Sunday afternoons but Washington
often "cloistered himself in his office on Sunday afternoons,
while his wife Margaret was entertaining young faculty members
in the parlor."
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