Booker T. Washington has been regarded as the leading figure in African American life, and as the man who brought his people from slavery to unfettered economic, political, and social involvement in the American mainstream

1: Two Sides of Life; 2: Helping Others; 3: Some of the Rocks Ahead; 4: On Influencing by Example; 5: The Virtue of Simplicity; 6: Have You Done Your Best?; 7: Don't Be Discouraged; 8: On Getting a Home; 9: Calling Things by Their Right Names; 10: European Impressions; 11: The Value of System in Home Life; 12: What Will Pay; 13: Education that Educates; 14: The Importance of Being Reliable; 15: The Highest Education; 16: Unimproved Opportunities; 17: Keeping Your Word; 18: Some Lessons of the Hour; 19: The Gospel of Service; 20: The Negro Conference; 21: What Is to Be Our Future?; 22: Some Great Little Things; 23: To Would-Be Teachers; 24: The Cultivation of Stable Habits; 25: What You Ought to Do; 26: Individual Responsibility; 27: Getting on in the World; 28: Each One His Part; 29: What Would Father and Mother Say?; 30: Object Lessons; 31: Substance vs. Shadow; 32: Character as Shown in Dress; 33: Sing the Old Songs; 34: Getting Down to Mother Earth; 35: A Penny Saved; 36: Growth; 37: Last Words