Vivian, Johan Donald.

During his lifetime, W. E. B. Du Bois grew increasingly leftist. His early writings showed his optimism; his later works showed no such upbeat tone. Several developments fueled this metamorphosis: his controversies with Booker T. Washington; his two acrimonious departures from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; his arrest and trial as an unregistered foreign agent. In his early writings, Du Bois frequently mentions being "above the veil." In later works, the metaphorical garment--when mentioned at all--has become a prison. His early belief that the advancement of Negroes would depend on science and rational discourse was eventually replaced with a conviction that only economic reconstruction would allow his people to rend the veil keeping them in check and permit the working class--black and white--to cast off its chains.