I was able to look at this in a new light when you brought to my attention that both of these abolitionist leaders were trying to come forth at roughly the same time. On one hand, you have Washington, who believes in staying in a more repressed position in society and working up to full equality slowly (which is really what happened). Douglas, on the other end of the spectrum, is filled with anger toward the long years of repression and injustice that his race had endured. He was ready to have full equality, and he was willing to do it by force if necessary.
It should be pretty interesting to see as we go along in the course the battle for superiority between these to minds. Or was there no battle at all, a simple fizzle out or perhaps the rise of another leader. I was thinking that perhaps the conditions that the two grew up in would have some effect on their views, but it sounds like they grew up in pretty similar conditions: slaves under masters from the south. I'm thinking age might have something to do with it too though. Washington, still relatively young when freedom was announced, was most likely prone to have a far different perspective on the matter than Douglas, who had lived over 60 or 70 years in slavery. This, I'm guessing, is one of the main reasons for the differences.
When it comes to the actual philosophies of the two, I think I would be more apt to put my faith in Washington. While it is difficult to ignore the apparent dislike of freedom that he portrays, his policy of gradual integration is sound. Having to incorporate 8 million people into society is not an easy task, and it certainly can't be done in a day.
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