The speech, which is often referred to as the "Atlanta Compromise," was the first speech given by an African American to … On September 18, 1895 Booker T. Washington gave an address to the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition which became known as the “Atlanta Compromise Speech.” The address appears below. On September 18, 1895, Booker T. Washington was selected to give a speech that would open the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the organizers of the exposition worried that “public sentiment was not prepared for such an advanced step,” they decided that inviting a black speaker would impress Northern visitors with the evidence of racial progress in the South. Don't use plagiarized sources. Definition and Summary of the Atlanta Compromise Summary and Definition: The Atlanta Compromise was the name given to a speech made by Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) at the Cotton States and International Exposition at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia on September 18, 1895.
Widely praised at first, Washington's stance was soon criticized by black leaders, including scholar W.E.B. His “Atlanta Compromise” address, as it came to be called, was one of the most important and influential speeches in American history. Gentlemen of the Exposition: As we present to you our humble effort at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect over much; starting thirty years ago with ownership here and there in a few quilts and pumpkins and chickens (gathered from miscellaneous sources) remember, the path that has led us from these to the invention and production of agricultural implements, buggies, steam engines, newspapers, books, statuary, carvings, paintings, the management of drug stores and banks, has not been trodden without contact with thorns and thistles. Cast it down in agriculture, in mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions. In conclusion, may I repeat, that nothing in thirty years has given us more hope and encouragement and drawn us so near to you of the white race as the opportunity offered by this Exposition; here bending, as it were, over the altar that represents the results of the struggles of your race and mine, both starting practically empty-handed three decades ago, I pledge that, in your effort to work out the great and intricate problem which God has laid at the doors of the South, you shall have at all times the patient, sympathetic help of my race. Booker T. Washington that Reconstruction had failed by offering African Americans 'too much too soon' and in …
He asked whites to also “cast down their buckets” and hire black workers, rather than immigrants. President and Gentlemen of the Board of Directors and Citizens:One-third of the population of the South is … Atlanta Compromise. by Booker T. Washington .