Michael Rudolph West is associate professor of history and director of Africana Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

West's arguments...are fascinating and compel us to rethink our views of this complex and contradictory man. The Historian Illuminating... West's study stands out for its innovative argument as well as the author's deep personal investment. Publishers Weekly The author offers interesting assessments of other commentators on race... Significant ideas. Kirkus West's reflections offer fresh considerations on the complex consequences of American racism. Library Journal Recommended. Choice One of the most important books on Washington and on black thought in recent years. -- W. Fitzhugh Brundage The Journal of American History This is a book that must be read. -- Gregory Mixon American Historical Review An important work. -- Mia Roth The European Legacy

• Preface Introduction 1. "The Great and Intricate Problem": Democracy, the Negro Problem, and the Idea of Race Relations 2. "Negroes Whose Habits You Know": The Boy, "Booker," Progress, and "Racial Feeling" 3. "They Will Pull Against You the Load Downward": The Freedpeople's Failure and Booker Washington's Rescue 4. "Gathered from Miscellaneous Sources": Democratic Possibilities and Other Kinds of "Racial Feelings" 5. "Prepared for the Exercise of These Privileges": A New Negro and the End of Democracy Notes Index

Michael Rudolph West is associate professor of history and director of Africana Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

West's arguments...are fascinating and compel us to rethink our views of this complex and contradictory man. The Historian Illuminating... West's study stands out for its innovative argument as well as the author's deep personal investment. Publishers Weekly The author offers interesting assessments of other commentators on race... Significant ideas. Kirkus West's reflections offer fresh considerations on the complex consequences of American racism. Library Journal Recommended. Choice One of the most important books on Washington and on black thought in recent years. -- W. Fitzhugh Brundage The Journal of American History This is a book that must be read. -- Gregory Mixon American Historical Review An important work. -- Mia Roth The European Legacy

• Preface Introduction 1. "The Great and Intricate Problem": Democracy, the Negro Problem, and the Idea of Race Relations 2. "Negroes Whose Habits You Know": The Boy, "Booker," Progress, and "Racial Feeling" 3. "They Will Pull Against You the Load Downward": The Freedpeople's Failure and Booker Washington's Rescue 4. "Gathered from Miscellaneous Sources": Democratic Possibilities and Other Kinds of "Racial Feelings" 5. "Prepared for the Exercise of These Privileges": A New Negro and the End of Democracy Notes Index

Michael Rudolph West is associate professor of history and director of Africana Studies at the College of the Holy Cross.

West's arguments...are fascinating and compel us to rethink our views of this complex and contradictory man. The Historian Illuminating... West's study stands out for its innovative argument as well as the author's deep personal investment. Publishers Weekly The author offers interesting assessments of other commentators on race... Significant ideas. Kirkus West's reflections offer fresh considerations on the complex consequences of American racism. Library Journal Recommended. Choice One of the most important books on Washington and on black thought in recent years. -- W. Fitzhugh Brundage The Journal of American History This is a book that must be read. -- Gregory Mixon American Historical Review An important work. -- Mia Roth The European Legacy

• Preface Introduction 1. "The Great and Intricate Problem": Democracy, the Negro Problem, and the Idea of Race Relations 2. "Negroes Whose Habits You Know": The Boy, "Booker," Progress, and "Racial Feeling" 3. "They Will Pull Against You the Load Downward": The Freedpeople's Failure and Booker Washington's Rescue 4. "Gathered from Miscellaneous Sources": Democratic Possibilities and Other Kinds of "Racial Feelings" 5. "Prepared for the Exercise of These Privileges": A New Negro and the End of Democracy Notes Index