Teddy and Booker T. summary

Booker T. Washington didn’t exactly get a head start in life. Born into slavery in Virginia in 1856, he spent his early years toiling in poverty even after emancipation granted him freedom at age nine. But Washington wasn’t about to let hardship squash his determination to make something of himself.

Working long days in the coal mines and salt furnaces of West Virginia, the young Washington became intent on learning to read and write. A kindly woman took notice of his drive and gave him reading and writing basics. This lit Washington’s hunger for knowledge into a blazing fire.

At just 16, Washington walked 500 miles to enroll in a secondary school for African Americans called the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Too broke to afford tuition, he offered his janitorial services in exchange for schooling.

At Hampton, Washington found a mentor in General Samuel Chapman Armstrong. Armstrong preached self-reliance and believed skilled trades were the key for recently freed Black people to succeed. Washington also benefited from the nurturing attention of influential teacher Nathalie Lord, who helped him hone his natural gifts for rhetoric and public speaking.

After graduation, Washington spent several years teaching Black students in rural schools across the South. Four years later, Armstrong invited him to join the staff at Hampton Institute to teach newcomers basic literacy. Despite Washington’s limited formal education, Armstrong had been impressed by his moral character, work ethic, and vocational skills – traits he believed students should aspire to.

Unlike Washington, Teddy Roosevelt was born in 1858 with every advantage – a wealthy New York family and all the best schooling. But he was plagued by health problems including asthma, and his dad warned his weak frame couldn’t support his big dreams. Roosevelt took that as a challenge to whip his body into shape.

As a teenager, he accompanied his family on trips to Europe and Egypt and indulged his adventurous spirit through mountain climbing, horseback riding, and rifle shooting. During the Civil War, while his father paid $300 for a substitute to avoid fighting, Roosevelt saw his mother’s brothers enlisted for the Confederacy, admiring their display of honor and duty.

In college, Roosevelt stretched his social muscles among Harvard’s student body. Tragically, his dad died while Teddy was studying there, leaving him devastated but even more motivated to live purposefully.

After graduation, Roosevelt enrolled at Columbia Law School but quickly lost interest in becoming a lawyer. He dropped out after one year to pursue his passion for writing and political engagement. In 1881, he published his first book, a well-received history called The Naval War of 1812. Through these early life experiences, the wildly different men developed persistence and fortitude that would serve them well on the public stage.