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Booker T. Washington

A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Thelma Queen, Patrick Kerwin, and Joseph Sullivan

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

1994

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, 1999 January; encoding completed by Manuscript Division, 1999.

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms998017

Latest revision: 2004-12-09

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Names:

Subjects:

Occupations:

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Transfers:

Copyright Status:

Microfilm:

Preferred Citation:

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

Organization of the Papers

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Names:

Subjects:

Occupations:

Administrative Information

Provenance:

The papers of Booker T. Washington, educator, author, and African-American leader, were given to the Library of Congress by Tuskegee Institute between 1943 and 1945. Small additions were received by gift and purchase from others between 1929 and 1986.

Processing History:

The papers of Booker T. Washington were first processed and described in a register published in 1958. The papers were subsequently reprocessed for microfilming in 1994 and redescribed in this register, superseding the published register of 1958. A description of the Washington papers appears in the Library of Congress Quarterly Journal of Current Acquisitions, Vol. 2, No. 2 (February 1945), pp. 23-31.

Transfers:

Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the library. A braille copy of Up From Slavery has been transferred to the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Some photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division subsequent to microfilming. Some printed material has been transferred to the Serial & Government Publications Division and to the African and Middle Eastern Division of the Library. All transfers are identified as part of the Booker T. Washington Papers.

Copyright Status:

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Booker T. Washington is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.)

Microfilm:

A microfilm edition of these papers is available on 762 reels. Consult a reference librarian in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan.

Preferred Citation:

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Booker T. Washington Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Biographical Note

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915) span the years 1853-1946, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1900-1915. The collection deals chiefly with the early history and administration of the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama, which Washington founded in 1881, as well as his diverse interests in other fields and institutions such as the Rockefeller-funded General Education Board, the Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virgina, other African-American schools, and education in general. In addition, it provides insights into race relations and social and political developments in the North and South between Reconstruction and World War I.

Part I of the Washington Papers consists of Family Correspondence, Personal Correspondence, Special Correspondence, and General Correspondence. The Family Correspondence (1881-1932) contains letters and related material sent between Booker T. Washington and family members and provides a rare glimpse into Washington's earlier years. The Personal Correspondence (1880-1916) features sensitive administrative and political matters as well as Washington's personal life. The Special Correspondence (1853-1915) consists of incoming and outgoing correspondence for individuals with whom he developed a sustained and frequent correspondence. The Personal Correspondence and Special Correspondence series illuminate Washington's relationships with various political and social figures of the time. The General Correspondence (1882-1915) reflects the routine correspondence of the principal's office of Tuskegee Institute.

Part II of the papers consists of correspondence files supplementing the letters in Part I. Included are Family Correspondence, Personal Correspondence, Special Correspondence, and General Correspondence. Also in Part II is a Speech, Article, and Book File (1887-1915) reflecting Washington's extensive speaking and writing efforts in conjunction with his work at Tuskegee Institute. Other files in Part II include separate series of photographs, printed matter, and miscellany and a series relating to Washington's death in 1915.

Part III of the collection focuses on the organizational records of Tuskegee Institute and on Washington's nationwide efforts to promote African-American advancement and education. The Departmental File (1897-1915) pertains to the functioning of the various departments within Tuskegee Institute. The Donation File (1884-1920) relates to the financing of the institute and the building of Rosenwald rural schools and other funds. The Lecture File (1904-1915) documents Washington's extensive speaking tours throughout the United States. The Applications for Positions File (1901-1915) provides insight into the structure and composition of Tuskegee as a vocational institution. The Student File (1902-1915) reflects students' financial and personal problems, applications, and entrance fees and tuition. The Extension Work File (1908-1915) relates to Washington's instructional and organizational activities within Macon County, Alabama, and on a national level. The Tuskegee Records (1887-1941) relate primarily to the administration and history of Tuskegee. The National Negro Business League (1901-1928) records in the collection concern the organization and operation of the league which Washington helped to establish in 1900 to promote African American enterprise.

Part IV consists of oversized material removed from various parts of the collection.

Significant and frequent correspondents in the Booker T. Washington Papers include William Henry Baldwin, Jr., Nannie Helen Burroughs, Wallace Buttrick, Andrew Carnegie, George Washington Carver, James Sullivan Clarkson, J. H. Dillard, Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois, Charles William Eliot, Timothy Thomas Fortune, Hollis Burke Frissell, Marcus Garvey, Abraham Grant, Leigh S. J. Hunt, Seth Low, Fred R. Moore, Robert Russa Moton, Edgar Gardner Murphy, Daniel Alexander Payne Murray, Robert C. Ogden, Walter Hines Page, George Foster Peabody, John D. Rockefeller, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, Julius Rosenwald, Emmett J. Scott, Anson Phelps Stokes, William H. Taft, V. H. Tulane, and Oswald Garrison Villard.

Organization of the Papers

The collection is arranged in four parts comprised of fifteen series:

• Part I
  • Family Correspondence, 1881-1932
  • Personal Correspondence, 1880-1916
  • Special Correspondence, 1853-1915
  • Letterbooks, 1885-1903
  • General Correspondence, 1882-1915
• Part II
  • Supplemental Papers, 1882-1946
• Part III
  • Departmental File, 1897-1915
  • Donation File, 1884-1920
  • Lecture File, 1904-1915
  • Applications for Positions, 1901-1915
  • Student File, 1902-1915
  • Extension Work, 1908-1915
  • Tuskegee Records, 1887-1941
  • National Negro Business League, 1901-1928
• Part IV
  • Oversize, 1900-1931, n.d.

Container List