The Tuskegee Institute was established by Booker T. Washington in 1881. Washington was an educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States. He was born into slavery in 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. After the Civil War, he attended Hampton Institute, a vocational school for African Americans in Virginia. He graduated in 1875 and taught at Hampton for several years. In 1881, he was invited by the Alabama Legislature to establish a school for African Americans in Tuskegee, Alabama. Washington accepted the invitation and founded the Tuskegee Institute. The institute offered vocational training in agriculture, mechanics, and domestic science. Washington believed that African Americans should learn practical skills that would help them to succeed in the workplace. He also believed that African Americans should be self-sufficient and not rely on government assistance. The Tuskegee Institute became a successful model for other vocational schools for African Americans. Washington died in 1915, but the Tuskegee Institute continued to operate until 1974. It is now known as Tuskegee University.