During the era of slavery in the United States, most slave owners actively prevented their slaves from learning to read and write. This was done for several key reasons that were rooted in maintaining control and enforcing the racist belief that slaves were inferior.
Keeping Slaves Uneducated Helped Maintain the Slave System
At its core, slavery was an oppressive economic system dependent on the free labor of enslaved people. If slaves could read and write, they could more easily:
- Learn about abolitionist movements and develop rebellious ideas
- Forge passes to escape plantations
- Communicate with other slaves to plan uprisings
All of these outcomes threatened the entire economic foundation of forced, unpaid labor that slavery provided. Illiterate slaves with no access to outside information were easier to control and exploit.
Education Could Make Slaves Unsatisfied with Slavery
Many slave owners genuinely believed that blacks were inferior to whites and that slavery was their natural station in life. They feared that education would make slaves unsatisfied as they gained knowledge and aspiration for freedom.
An educated slave was dangerous because they could more readily:
- Develop an independent sense of personal dignity
- Understand they were being wrongly oppressed
- Desire liberty and equality
This threatened the racist narrative that slaves were content and suited for servitude. Thus, slave owners suppressed literacy to prop up the belief system underlying slavery.
Reading Could Lead to Forbidden Religious Ideas
While most slave owners were not concerned with the spiritual well-being of their slaves, they did fear slaves accessing religious messages of equality and autonomy.
Literacy enabled slaves to:
- Read the Bible themselves
- Interpret messages of love, justice, and liberation
- Preach equality among men before God
These teachings undermined the idea that blacks were lesser beings designed for slavery. It also inspired some rebellious activity, so restricting religious literacy was seen as necessary.
Statistical Data on Slave Literacy
The suppression of slave literacy is evident in census data from 1830-1875. As education was often oral, estimates of literacy focus on the ability to read and write:
| Year | Estimated % of Slaves Who Could Read and Write |
|---|---|
| 1830 | 5-10% |
| 1850 | 10% |
| 1865 | 10-20% |
| 1875 | 20-25% |
As evident in the table, slaves had minimal literacy rates before abolition. The slight improvements came slowly even until after emancipation, reflecting the entrenched legacy of enforced ignorance.
While 1 in 10 could read by 1850, this was largely restricted to house slaves with more access than field hands. Some skilled urban slaves could write, but 9 out of 10 slaves worked in rural areas. Geographic isolation and banning education allowed slave owners to control literacy levels.
Methods of Preventing Slave Literacy
Slave owners utilized several harsh methods to keep slaves from attaining forbidden literacy. These included:
Slave Codes That Banned Education
Laws were passed restricting black literacy, with punishment if caught teaching slaves to read. South Carolina decreed in 1740:
“All and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach, or cause any slave to be taught to write, or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe, in any manner of writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such person or persons shall, for every such offense, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds.”
Other slave states passed similar laws banning education. Teaching slaves to read was seen as inciting unrest and rebellion.
Prohibiting Written Material
Literacy was meaningless if slaves had nothing to read. Books, writing utensils, paper and Bibles were banned on plantations.
Owners tried to prevent external abolitionist literature from reaching plantations. Slaves would hide treasured pages they managed to access, sharing them secretly.
Discouraging Oral Sharing
Since literacy was largely oral, masters also tried stopping slaves from sharing stories, history, Bible verses, and news they’d overheard. This oral education was seen as dangerous and subversive.
Physical Punishment
Harsh reprisals kept slaves illiterate. Whipping, beating, maiming, and even death could be inflicted on slaves caught seeking education. Imagery of lynchings sent a chilling message.
This brutality and intimidation suppressed literacy, as learning was risky and could invite violence.
Some Slaves Managed to Become Literate
Despite prohibitions, some slaves in unique positions managed to attain literacy in secret:
Urban Slaves
Slaves in cities could sometimes encounter education more easily. They may hear others reading, see street writings, access books, and interact with free blacks – gaining essential oral knowledge.
Talented/Responsible Slaves
Trusted house slaves and plantation foremen picked up some writing and numeration skills to aid their duties. But this was allowed only to benefit the master.
Rebellious Teaching
Some brave souls defied laws to teach slaves in secret. Black preachers risked their lives preaching the gospel and literacy to slaves. Abolitionists distributed pamphlets and books.
Self-Motivated Learners
A number of slaves with a strong desire for literacy managed to teach themselves furtively when opportunities arose. Some even learned from white children they looked after.
But these cases of learning were scarce exceptions, as slave owners tried to allow as little unauthorized education as possible.
Impacts of Slave Illiteracy After Emancipation
While slavery legally ended in 1865, its legacy of illiteracy continued hampering free blacks:
Exclusion from Trades and Skilled Work
Lack of education meant generations of blacks lacked the literacy for contracts, accounting, navigating bureaucracy, homesteading, and skilled work. This limited economic opportunity even after emancipation.
Social and Political Marginalization
Black illiteracy became a justification for restricting voting rights, housing access, and civil liberties. It enforced poverty and second-class citizenship. This marginalization continued through Jim Crow laws.
Cyclical Illiteracy
Parents who were denied education could not read to children at home. Illiteracy became a cycle passing down through families after slavery.
Later reforms improved black literacy over generations. But the legacy of excluding slaves from education continued to impact opportunity and equality.
The Present Importance of Literacy
While deliberate prohibitions on education have ended, inequality in literacy acquisition still impacts marginalized communities today:
- School funding in poorer districts can reduce literacy.
- Early reading at home provides essential foundations.
- Support for learning disabilities and access to books makes a difference.
- Computer and internet literacy facilitate advancement.
Modern society presents new challenges. But the fundamental importance of literacy remains. Education continues to empower and liberate.
Conclusion
Slave owners prevented literacy in order to maintain slavery’s status quo. Reading posed risks that slaves would gain knowledge, autonomy, and rebellious ideas that threatened the entire economic system.
Masters prohibited education through legal codes, restricting access to books, discouraging oral sharing, and using brutality to intimidate slaves from learning. Still, a small minority managed to gain forbidden literacy in secret.
After emancipation, generations of black illiteracy continued to limit opportunity and enforce inequality. The legacy of denied education lasted long after slavery legally ended.
Equal access to quality education regardless of race or class remains essential for empowerment and advancement in society today. When literacy is broadly shared, it enlightens us all.