And herein lies the tragedy of the age: not that men are poor,—all men know something of poverty; not that men are wicked,—who is good? not that men are ignorant,—what is Truth?
Du Bois introduces his profound definition of the era's tragedy, distinguishing it from common human struggles like poverty, wickedness, or ignorance.
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The form and disposition of the laborers’ cabins throughout the Black Belt is to-day the same as in slavery days.
By 1830 slavery seemed hopelessly fastened on the South, and the slaves thoroughly cowed into submission.
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.
The direct result of this system is an all-cotton scheme of agriculture and the continued bankruptcy of the tenant.