The Booker T. Washington Papers, Vol.5, page xxii, in Introduction, U. of Illinois Press

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The BOOKER T. WASHINGTON Papers Criticism of Washington's leadership in the late Egos was mild when compared to the opposition he would face later. Few blacks or whites were thinking of repudiation of Washington's leadership at this time. Criticism of his conservative approach grew as he became powerful enough to make his leadership monolithic, and as worsening racial conditions in American life called for new approaches. Critics such as the black physician Nathan F. Mossell and the black clergyman Reverdy C. Ransom, for example, chastised Washington for his attempt to stand aloof from controversial issues such as black civil rights. They could not understand how he could be hailed as the Moses of his race when he refused to take a bold stand on political issues. Others, especially college-trained blacks, criticized Washington for his failure to promote higher education. At the turn of the century, however, few blacks were completely polarized on this issue, and there was general praise by both blacks and whites for Washington's work at Tuskegee Institute. Washington's civil rights activities were usually carried out secretly. He helped finance the search for a case to test the Louisiana Constitution of Too, and, using friends as intermediaries, he sought to check Jim Crow practices on railroads. In Too he successfully lobbied against disfranchisement of black voters in Georgia. Despite all of this, however, Washington's secret militancy never balanced his public conservatism. His power as a race leader grew from his accommodationist public image and his strong following among whites, not from his secret activities. His secret life can be explained in part by his attempt to be all things to all men. Washington tried to dominate all aspects of racial leadership, and this included an attempt to control the direction of civil rights · . . activities. In ~ goo Washington founded the National Negro Business League to help promote black business and to advertise the economic success some blacks had achieved. The league reflected Washington's belief that black advancement depended on integration into the American economy. It served a more important function for Washington, however, by providing him with a corps of loyal supporters in every major American city. It became an important basis of Washington's political influence with black Americans. Though he publicly eschewed political activity, Washington of· — XX11