Booker T. Washington

Atlanta, Georgia 1895, Booker T. Washington would deliver a speech called the “Atlanta Compromise Address”. Influential speech made by Washington and ant one point almost not allowed to be spoken, especially to an all white audience. However, having a black speaker would and should impress the Northerners and prove the racial changes in the south. Washington speech would provide the theory of “cast their buckets where they are” for all blacks. Beginnings to the end of Washington address, Washington use many literary strategies that would encourage African Americans to stand up for themselves and still remain inferior to the whites.

To capture the audience attention, Washington would use an analogy and a nautical metaphor to express many of his thoughts. One of the analogies was: “A ship lost at sea for many days suddenly sighted a friendly vessel. From the mast of the unfortunate vessel was seen a signal, “Water, water; we die of thirst!” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” A second time the signal, “Water, water; send us water!” ran up from the distressed vessel, and was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” And a third and fourth signal for water was answered, “Cast down your bucket where you are.” The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River. To those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man, who is their next-door neighbor, I would say: “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. (Pg. 34)

The story Washington is telling about is comparing white men to a distressed vessel and African Americans men to a friendly vessel. When white men have no water and are thirsty and in need, African American Men would put aside all differences and help out the whites. When a bad situation occurs, rather than returning an ignorant attitude that the African Americans would receive, Washington wanted all of them to do all they could be kind neighbors to the whites while not to challenge their superiority. Analogy used in this speech would influence the African Americans to be more confident in what they may believe in and not to be afraid to express oneself. To gain the respect of the whites, it was all going to boil down to is being respect of them and they intended to achieve it by hard working and determined. Another illustration Washington would use was a nautical metaphor:
“Cast down your bucket where you are.” Cast it down among the eight millions of Negroes whose habits you know, whose fidelity and love you have tested in days when to have proved treacherous meant the ruin of your fireside. Cast down your bucket among these people who have without strikes and labor wars tilled your fields, cleared your forests, builded your railroads and cities, brought forth treasures from the bowels of the earth, just to make possible this magnificent representation of the progress of the South.

In Washington metaphor the bucket is the actions of the African Americans, they are free now and in a land of many opportunities. Progress has been made when the southern cotton industry wanted Washington to speak at their show.

This speech is to encourage both blacks to work harder and to achieve a higher education, as well as to convenience whites of their loyalty to the southern states. In the south only a minority of elite whites owned slaves, the majority did not. Arriving from Europe may Irish and Italian would witness the many disadvantages whites as blacks.
Washington believes that African Americans in the south were in charge of their own future. He believes the only way to gain prestige, power and a strong economic base is for the African Americans to work harder for it. Receiving handouts for anyone are discouraging and would make people be lazy and have resentment of others. Working extra hard would be more than just getting an excellent education and a honest career at this time. Washington believe that it all came down to was friendship, he believes that the whites were “our neighbors”, and that will help to begin building a new life beside them. Washington believes that education and economic progress are the two keys and everything else will soon follow.

Washington speech tells us how he views the south. Washington saw how southern African Americans were proving their loyalty during slavery, as slaves were a central part of the family life in the plantations. Slavery is now has ended, the past years have shown how blacks were still willing to work hard in the south and the economic development. Washington believes that progress is the most important in the technical vocations, professions and other area of economic expertise. He believes after that then the African American People would get elected to many positions. An when this will happen the southern whites will understand loyal, valuable and friendly the southern African Americans really are.