the able and unscrupulous politician, Black or White, is so dreadful a
menace to our political institutions. But he felt very strongly, and I
felt no less strongly, that one of the most efficient ways of warring
against this evil type was to show the Negro that, if he turned his
back on that type, and fitted himself to be a self-respecting citizen,
doing his part in sustaining the common burdens of good citizenship,
he would be freely accorded by his White neighbors the privileges and
rights of good citizenship. Surely there can be no objection to this.
Surely there can be no serious objection thus to keep open the door of
hope for the thoroughly decent, upright, self-respecting man, no
matter what his color.

In the same way, while Booker T. Washington firmly believed that the
attention of the Colored race should be riveted, not on political
life, but on success sought in the fields of honest business endeavor,
he also felt, and I agreed with him, that it was to the interest of
both races that there should be appointments to office of Black Men
whose characters and abilities were such that if they were White Men
their appointments would be hailed as being well above the average,
and creditable from every standpoint. He also felt, and I agreed with
him, that it was essential that these appointments should be made
relatively most numerous in the North--for it is worse than useless to
preach virtue to others, unless the preachers themselves practise it;
which means that the Northern communities, which pride themselves on
possessing the proper attitude toward the Negro, should show this
attitude by their own acts within their own borders.

I profited very much by my association with Booker T. Washington. I
owed him much along many different lines. I valued greatly his
friendship and respect; and when he died I mourned his loss as a
patriot and an American.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

_Sagamore Hill,_
_August 28, 1916._

CONTENTS

PAGE

FOREWORD BY ROBERT R. MOTON v

AUTHORS' PREFACE vii

PREFACE BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT ix

CHAPTER

I. THE MAN AND HIS SCHOOL IN THE MAKING 3

II. LEADER OF HIS RACE 19

III. WASHINGTON: THE EDUCATOR 57

IV. THE RIGHTS OF THE NEGRO