Talents devoted to literary expression
Best efforts were at the beginning of his career
Wrote “Great Barrington Notes” to the New York Globe and New York Freeman
Came across the abuse and violence that he had not seen before in the North
Editor in chief of The Fisk Herald
History courses led him to misunderstandings of history and European power
Studying in Berlin gave him the belief that through the pursuit of truth by investigation, race problems would have their solutions
First of Major Historical works which earned him the title of historian was “The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870”
He stated he had difficulty in separating the suppression of the slave trade from the system of American slavery and colonial policy
One reviewer regarded him as “the advocate rather than the historian”
He talked about the carelessness of Americans and the lack of moral opposition to the slave traffic
Appointed as Assistant Instructor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania in order to undertake a special investigation into the conditions of the colored people of Philadelphia
“The Negro problem was in my mind a matter of systematic investigation and intelligent understanding”
Didn’t let the title “assistant instructor” get to him even though he had a PHD from Harvard
Resulted in “The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study”
More emphasis upon current social conditions and less about history of blacks in Philly
Relied less on history more and more often, focused on present conditions
Made him a trail blazer and distinguished scholar and by this date, sociologist
Published “The Souls of Black Folk”
DuBois said that “John Brown” was one of the best things he had done
Did this from the point of view of John Brown
Returned to history in 1915 in a small volume
“Black Reconstruction and its Benefits”
Reconstruction had its tragedy, because here was an attempt to initiate and make democracy and the tenets of the Declaration of Independence apply not only to white men but also to black men
Directed attention to the achievements of reconstruction by Negroes after the Civil War who were creating a better American life but were prevented by reactionaries
Negro legislators made contributions to national and local government and didn’t deserve criticism of historians
Failed because it was only supported by individuals and was defeated by force
Talked about how the white historians had biased views and were not fair to the Negroes
Historians had ignored the negro, with a few exceptions
Due to their loyalty to the south and fidelity to clan and class
Negroes faced one of the worse efforts to discredit human beings which included universities, history, science, social life, and religion
Moved from the status of specializing in history to concentrating on facts and ideas on race and racism

#2
Had academic training that no other young American scholars could match
13 years in his apprenticeship
Studied with top people from Harvard and Berlin
Had a huge breadth, ranging from sciences and philosophy, to math and greek and latin
Took college prep classes in high school
No matter where he was, Fisk was in his blood
Was judged on his skills and knowledge, not color by certain professors
Very respected by his instructors, they spoke highly of him
Took him a several years to decide what he wanted to do
First proposed to study sciences and philosophy
Considered a Negro at the frontier of knowledge in the field of philosophy
Participating in the most advanced developments of modern thought
Philosophy didn’t hold his interest so he went to political economy and history in graduate school
Hard to earn a living with philosophy was a reason behind the switch
Social reform attracted him more
These were more related to Negro problems
Wanted to study the social and economics of Negro people
Fully accepted by Harvard faculty
Guided his work and gave him credit when due
William James was his favorite teacher