Leadership persuades people with reason and moves them with emotion, producing conviction in their followers. Historians use their own criteria to interpret their own analysis with the benefit of hindsight.

By 1870, Congress had freed slaves and introduced legislation to secure blacks rights of citizenship due to a change in the federal mood, and despite Johnson’s pro-slavery stance, progress was limited because of a balancing act between northern push for reform and the southern fear of threatened livelihood.

Booker T Washington 1856-1915 himself a former slave, challenged white opinion, by proving that African Americans deserved respect and equality. He advocated practical, economic and social improvements enabling legal reform and political advancement. He endorsed black self-help and pride teaching skills by w

His civil rights achievements were limited by resistance in congress, although legal cases like ‘Henderson v US’ made it unlawful to have segregation on railway dining cars under the Interstate Commerce Act.

Washington, born a slave, understood southern white traditions and fears, and aimed to reassure them shown in his 1895 ‘Atlanta Compromise’ speech. His pragmatic nature made even social segregation acceptable to him. He said "It was foolish to agitate for social equality, that it would come through hard work, not force, as no-one of economic importance was ever ostracized for long". His greatest achievement was his ability to inspire African Americans without alienating white Americans, and President McKinley appointed him to be his official advisor on black affairs in 1896 so raising black profile and moral. Washington’s main threat was his dependence on presidential will for reform, and although progress was chequered, his standing ensured that he was always noticed. He favored small steady steps towards economic advancement. This was seen by black militants as too moderate, and they criticised him for only having a limited influence in federal policies, as shown by his failure to convince Roosevelt to condemn lynching and in 1906 his failure to moderate his reaction to the Brownsville riots. He remained uncomfortable with the radical methods of Du Bois or M Garvey, fearing a back lash from white government.

Some topics in this essay:
African Americans, Du Bois, , Du Bois’s, Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, UNAI Jamaica, President McKinley, King SCLC, SCLC CORE, civil rights, du bois, african americans, federal government, luther king, martin luther king, martin luther, rights movement, civil rights movement, ideological differences, trade unionist randolph, world war, civil rights issues, white americans, influence federal policies,