William Edward Burghard Du Bois and Booker Taliaferro Washington were both civil rights leaders of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Du Bois was born a free man in Massachusetts, studied at Harvard University, and became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. . Washington was born a slave in Virginia, worked in the salt mines while attending school, and later attended Hampton Institute to learn business skills. Although Du Bois and Washington had the same goal of achieving equality, they sharply disagreed on strategies regarding voting rights, social change, education, and the role of the black man in the South. Washington had a gradual approach unlike Du Bois who wanted immediate equality. Du Bois and Washington differed greatly on voting rights. Du Bois was outraged by racial injustice and inequality. He called for African Americans to be given the right to vote, equal rights, and greater educational opportunities. . On the other hand, Washington agreed that African Americans needed to become economically independent and improve their place in the world and gradually gain their rights. Washington also believed that the literacy test should be administered to all races equally, as he stated in Up From Slavery, "whatever test is required, it should be applied with equal and exact justice to both races." (Document 10) While Du Bois wanted immediate voting rights, Washington preferred that African Americans work to gain their voting rights. Du Bois and Washington's approaches to social change differed greatly. Du Bois stated in The Negro Problem: “The Negro race, like all races, will be saved by its exceptional men… developing the best of this race which they will be able to lead… middle of paper… … .regarding the right to vote, social change, education, and the role of the black man in the South Du Bois believed that African Americans should gain social and political equality immediately and through education, while Washington thought that African Americans should achieve social equality and political equality gradually and through business skills. Although both make valid points and arguments, Washington has a more convincing and beneficial philosophy than Booker T. Washington had a gradual approach towards l. political and social equality which allowed society to slowly accept African Americans into their society which allowed society to adapt better unlike Du Bois who wanted drastic change, Washington also focused on business skills education which allowed African Americans to work and contribute to the economy, which allowed them to have a place in society..