W. E. B. Du Bois (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
The Souls of Black Folk; Essays and Sketches
Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1903.
W. E. B. Du Bois' The Souls of Black Folk (1903) is a seminal work in African American literature and an American classic. In this work Du Bois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these enduring concepts, Souls offers an assessment of the progress of the race, the obstacles to that progress, and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.
Du Bois examines the years immediately following the Civil War and, in particular, the Freedmen's Bureau's role in Reconstruction. The Bureau's failures were due not only to southern opposition and "national neglect," but also to mismanagement and courts that were biased "in favor of black litigants." The Bureau did have successes as well, and its most important contribution to progress was the founding of African American schools. Since the end of Reconstruction in 1876, Du Bois claims that the most significant event in African American history has been the rise of the educator, Booker T. Washington, to the role of spokesman for the race. Du Bois argues that Washington's approach to race relations is counterproductive to the long-term progress of the race. Washington's acceptance of segregation and his emphasis on material progress represent an "old attitude of adjustment and submission." Du Bois asserts that this policy has damaged African Americans by contributing to the loss of the vote, the loss of civil status, and the loss of aid for institutions of higher education. Du Bois insists that "the right to vote," "civic equality," and "the education of youth according to ability" are essential for African American progress.
Du Bois relates his experiences as a schoolteacher in rural Tennessee, and then he turns his attention to a critique of American materialism in the rising city of Atlanta where the single-minded attention to gaining wealth threatens to replace all other considerations. In terms of education, African Americans should not be taught merely to earn money. Rather, Du Bois argues there should be a balance between the "standards of lower training" and the "standards of human culture and lofty ideals of life." In effect, the African American college should train the "Talented Tenth" who can in turn contribute to lower education and also act as liaisons in improving race relations.
Du Bois returns to an examination of rural African American life with a presentation of Dougherty County, Georgia as representative of life in the southern Black Belt. He presents the history and current conditions of the county. Cotton is still the life-blood of the Black Belt economy, and few African Americans are enjoying any economic success. Du Bois describes the legal system and tenant farming system as only slightly removed from slavery. He also examines African American religion from its origins in African society, through its development in slavery, to the formation of the Baptist and Methodist churches. He argues that "the study of Negro religion is not only a vital part of the history of the Negro in America, but no uninteresting part of American history." He goes on to examine the impact of slavery on morality.
In the last chapters of his book, Du Bois concentrates on how racial prejudice impacts individuals. He mourns the loss of his baby son, but he wonders if his son is not better off dead than growing up in a world dominated by the color-line. Du Bois relates the story of Alexander Crummel, who struggled against prejudice in his attempts to become an Episcopal priest. In "Of the Coming of John," Du Bois presents the story of a young black man who attains an education. John's new knowledge, however, places him at odds with a southern community, and he is destroyed by racism. Finally, Du Bois concludes his book with an essay on African American spirituals. These songs have developed from their African origins into powerful expressions of the sorrow, pain, and exile that characterize the African American experience. For Du Bois, these songs exist "not simply as the sole American music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side the seas."
Andrew Leiter
Photo Credit: M.E. Warren
The Chesapeake Bay region is a significant setting in African-American history. The region was a gateway for the first black people brought from Africa to the colonies. Throughout the mid-1800s, the Bay and its rivers were important pathways along the Underground Railroad. After the war, newly emancipated Black people found their way to the Chesapeake's shores, where they helped build the region's economy and shape its culture.
Slavery in the Chesapeake Bay region
Slavery in the Chesapeake region began in 1619, when a Dutch trading vessel carrying 20 African men entered Jamestown, Virginia. The slave trade expanded in the following years. Between 1700 and 1770, the region's slave population grew from 13,000 to 250,000. By the beginning of the Revolutionary War in 1775, Black people made up nearly one-third of the region's population.
In the 1800s, the Chesapeake region became a focal point of the national controversy surrounding slavery because it was in the unique position of spanning free, border and slave states:
- “Free states,” which did not support slavery, made up the northern portion of the region.
- “Slave states” encompassed the southern portion of the region.
- “Border states” allowed slavery but were allied with the free states, further complicated the region's politics.
This complicated the region’s politics and caused great turmoil throughout the 19th century.
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad, which operated prior to the Civil War between 1830 and 1860, was a coordinated network of safe houses. Aided by free Black citizens and sympathetic white citizens, enslaved people traveled under the cover of darkness along the Underground Railroad to reach freedom.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the exact routes that escaped enslaved people followed, records show the Chesapeake and its rivers were often used as passageways to the North. This segment of the Underground Railroad, dubbed “Chesapeake Station,” was an integral part of the anti-slavery movement.
Chesapeake waterways were used in a variety of ways:
- Escaping enslaved people would quietly slip aboard docked vessels, which would shuttle them up the Bay into the Susquehanna River.
- Captains in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia hid runaways aboard their ships, risking high fines and jail time.
- Enslaved people working on boats also aided runaways by secretly smuggling them aboard.
- Enslaved people heading from Virginia toward freedom crossed shallow sections of the Potomac River on horseback or wagon to reach safe houses on the Maryland side.
Famous abolitionists
Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass were both born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Tubman escaped slavery in 1849 and returned to the South 19 times, freeing more than 300 slaves through the Underground Railroad.
Douglass used the Chesapeake in his first attempt to escape slavery. Douglass and five other men planned to canoe up the Bay and into Pennsylvania. However, the men were turned in by another enslaved person. Douglass ultimately found freedom on a steamboat traveling from Delaware to Pennsylvania.
The Civil War
The Chesapeake region, like much of the country, was increasingly divided over slavery. Pennsylvania, a free state, was loyal to the Union. The border states of Maryland and Delaware were pro-slavery, but also remained loyal to the Union. Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861 to join the Confederacy.
When the Civil War’s first shots were fired in 1861, the Chesapeake region became a divided battlefield. Enslaved people seized the opportunity to escape. They often did not have to travel far to find freedom and assistance with avoiding capture.
In Newport News, Virginia, Union Major General Benjamin F. Butler invoked property law to protect escaped enslaved people that fled to his camp. He reasoned that if the Confederacy was going to refer to enslaved people as property, he could seize them as property contraband of war.
Butler's interpretation of the law created new hope and a new workforce. Runaway enslaved people flooded into Union camps, where they were put to work. Although they were not fighting on front lines, Black citizens were instrumental in wartime operations such as building forts, maintaining railroads and mining coal.
As time passed and Union casualties grew, Black citizens were granted the right to serve in the Union Army. Many fought in battles throughout the Bay watershed.
In Maryland, six Black regiments totaling more than 8,700 men formed. These regiments played major roles in the Union's battle plans. The 36th U.S. Colored Infantry guarded the Confederate prison at Point Lookout, Maryland. Later in the war, the infantry disabled Confederate torpedoes in the lower Chesapeake.
More than 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army and 18,000 in the Union Navy. Twenty-one were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest military honor in the U.S.
African-American watermen
By the 1860s, the Chesapeake Bay became the primary source of oysters in the U.S. This created an industry in need of strong labor. The availability of jobs and relatively low start-up costs for new watermen lured many newly freed Black citizens to the region. In addition to harvesting the Bay's bounty, many also found jobs building boats and processing the day's catches.
New African-American communities sprung up along the Bay's shores. These communities became economic and cultural centers for Black citizens in the region.
During the early 1900s, it was not uncommon to hear men singing while hauling in seines full of fish. These rhythmic songs, known as chanteys, are rooted in African tradition. Chanteys helped the men coordinate their movements and control the pace of the grueling work. Many watermen believed that singing chanteys helped them haul in nets faster and more efficiently than those who did not sing.