Content note: An American book of 1903 that uses the racial terms of its day, describes slavery, lynching and racial violence, and includes the death of a child. Shown as printed. This object is shown as it was published. Why
W. E. B. Du Bois's collection of essays, published in Chicago in 1903, several of them first printed in magazines. It argues that the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colour line, and its third essay, "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others", is a published argument in the dispute over Black leadership in the United States. It is a work of persuasion by a private author, not a government publication.
Read the text
- The Forethought 407 words
- 1. Of Our Spiritual Strivings 3,086 words
- 2. Of the Dawn of Freedom 7,227 words
- 3. Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others 4,691 words
- 4. Of the Meaning of Progress 3,823 words
- 5. Of the Wings of Atalanta 3,353 words
- 6. Of the Training of Black Men 5,564 words
- 7. Of the Black Belt 6,654 words
- 8. Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece 7,539 words
- 9. Of the Sons of Master and Man 6,942 words
- 10. Of the Faith of the Fathers 4,624 words
- 11. Of the Passing of the First-Born 2,036 words
- 12. Of Alexander Crummell 3,282 words
- 13. Of the Coming of John 5,817 words
- 14. Of the Sorrow Songs 3,262 words
- The Afterthought 96 words
Download as plain text 68,403 words, with the provenance header above the text
Provenance and rights
- Edition
- The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, first published in Chicago by A. C. McClurg and Co. in 1903. Text from Project Gutenberg ebook #408, whose record does not name the printing it follows (the Forethought is dated Atlanta, 1 February 1903).
- Text source
- Project Gutenberg, ebook #408
- Text basis
- Project Gutenberg transcription released in 1996. The record gives no proofreading credit, so the text is not known to have been checked against page images.
- Rights
- Published in the United States in 1903, so in the public domain in the United States; Project Gutenberg marks it "Public domain in the USA". Du Bois died in 1963, so in countries that use life plus 70 years the work stays protected until the end of 2033. Checked October 2, 2026.
- Changes made
- Project Gutenberg's licence header and footer, the title page, the contents list and the dedication are not included. The [Illustration] markers for the musical epigraphs printed in the book are omitted (the verse epigraphs are kept). Line wraps rejoined; chapter headings set as number and title; italics kept as Gutenberg marks them (_like this_). Wording, spelling and punctuation are Gutenberg's.
- Source file checksum
87f8e832484792b7…(SHA-256 of the download this text was made from)