Washington’s early childhood experience with slavery and his interactions with white elites shaped his beliefs on the path to liberation. He believed that all blacks could follow his lead and work his way up to a higher social status. Washington thought himself to be the prime example of what an industrial education could do when combined with a little bit of help from whites. It was his opinion that the best way to become equal to whites socially and politically was for blacks to show their willingness to work and be loyal, useful members of society and be assets to the economy. Washington’s beliefs were also shaped by his mostly peaceful life as a slave. His conditions weren’t unusually poor and he was freed at a young age. This helped Washington form the basis of his path to liberation: economic progress while avoiding radical movements for political and social progress. Education was very important to Washington’s path to liberation. He had a industrial education and believed that it gave him the tools needed to educate himself and prove himself to the white elites in his lives. It had been ingrained in him that he was special, he was the excpetion to the rule that all blacks were lazy and stupid. Thus he saw himself as a leader at the Hampton Institute and later as the voice of the black community during the fight for liberation. He used his ability to gain the trust of white Southerners to build Tuskegee Institute into an exemplary school for industrial education. Once he had the ears of many influential white people, including politicians, he was able to move behind the scenes to progress the black communities. To the white public, who were fearful of black radical actions, Washington looked conservative and willing to move slowly. He used his friendships and trust with white leaders to put his ideas forward and show those who were wary of ‘radical’ black movements that the leaders were reasonable and gave those who were willing to work with them