Background
ChildhoodBooker T. Washington was born on April 5, 1856, as a slave to James Burroughs. He had to work carrying sacks of grain to the plantation's mill at a young age. If he did not preform his tasks correctly, he was beaten. When the civil war was over, and slavery was abolished, Washington and his mother, Jane, traveled to Malden, West Virginia. There, Jane met a freed slave named Washington Ferguson. Unfortunately, Ferguson was very poor, so Booker had to work with him in a salt mine to earn money, which meant he could not attend a school. Jane noticed her son's interest in learning, so she got him a book that taught him the alphabet and the basics of reading and writing. He had to get up at 4:00 a.m. to study this book because his work took up the rest of the day. In 1866 Washington got a job as a house boy for the wife of a coal mine owner named Lewis Ruffner. His wife, Viola Ruffner, had a reputation of being extremely strict with her servants, but she warmed up to Washington because of his maturity and intelligence. She learned about his passion for an education while he worked for her, and in the winter months she let him attend school for an hour a day.
A short biography on Booker T. Washington
(Courtesy of YouTube) CareerAfter graduation from Hampton, Booker went to teach at his old school in Malden, Virginia, and he attended Wayland Seminary in Washington D.C. He was asked to speak at the Hampton graduation ceremonies in 1897, and was then offered a teaching job at Hampton. In 1881, the Alabama legislature approved a black school, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. Instead of recommending a white man to run the school like he was told to, General Armstrong asked Booker T. Washington to run the school. At the beginning, classes were held in an old church, and Washington traveled all around the country raising money and promoting the school.
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This is a picture of Booker and his family
EducationDetermined to get an education, in 1872 Booker walked 500 miles to Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute in Virginia. He was able to convince the administrators to let him have a job as a janitor so he could pay for his tuition. General Samuel C. Armstrong, the headmaster of the school, saw Washington and offered him a scholarship. Armstrong was a supporter of providing freed slaves with a practical education. Armstrong became Washington's mentor, strengthening his moral character and values of hard work. Booker T. Washington graduated from Hampton with good grades in 1875.
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