LITR 4328 American Renaissance Research Posts 2015 (research post assignment) Research Post 2

Tanah Broussard

The Changes Between Now And Then

          I have a daughter who is 5 years old. She is my world, and I would not know what to do without her. One thing she hates doing is going to school. At her young age, education is not something she appreciates like she should. I understand that she is young, and that education is the last thing on her mind. As she grows up, I hope she values the importance of education because at one point in time, education was not something that everyone had the opportunity to have. During the slave period, education was not something that seemed of much importance, or at least that is how it was perceived. Prior to taking Dr. White’s class, I really did not grasp the idea of how little education was given to the slaves, if any was given to them at all. I always believed that slaves simply did not want to be educated because they thought it to be useless. I felt that they were just making it by the best they could, and obeying whatever they were told to do. After reading some of the works in class, hearing our class discussions, and doing some research, I found it astonishing how hard some of these slaves worked to learn to read and write.  Education is something that these slaves craved, and many children nowadays take that for granted. My post will be about why the slaves were not allowed to read and write, how the slaves learned to eventually read and write, and why it was so important for them to do so.

          Education of slaves in the 1800’s was very scarce. Slaves were used mainly for their hard labor, and whatever else the “white man” needed from them. Slaves were forbidden to learn how to read and write, and it was a crime to anyone who taught them how to do so. “Fearing that black literacy would prove a threat to the slave system whites in the Deep South passed laws forbidding slaves to learn to read or write and making it a crime for others to teach them” (Simkin, para. 1). As time went one, other states followed this law due to the fact they were terrified of the idea of slave rebellion. “Concerned that literate slaves would forge passes or convince other slaves to revolt, Southern slaveholders generally opposed slave literacy”(Simkin, para. 2). They knew what they were doing by keeping the slaves ignorant, and anyone that jeopardized that law would be severely punished.

          Another major reason why whites did not want blacks to read is because they wanted to feel superior to them in some way. They looked at the slaves as if they were stupid, and incapable of learning, which made whites feel that they had a step up on the blacks. “In the eyes of the slave masters, if slaves were permitted to learn to read and write the English language, they could begin to think and act on their own and rebellion was inevitable” (Langhorne, para. 2). The slave holders thought that as long as the slaves didn’t really know what was going on, that they would continue to do as told. “Additionally, proponents of slavery would be forced to accept the fact that Blacks were not inferior or unable to “absorb educative experiences,” but that they deserved the same freedoms that Whites enjoyed” (Langhorne, para. 2). They did not want the blacks to have to same freedoms as themselves. Most slave owners wanted control and power, which slowly began to change as time went on.

          As time progressed, education became to prosper among some slaves. “On plantations the pursuit of education became a communal effort -- slaves learned from parents, spouses, family members, and fellow slaves and some were even personally instructed by their masters or hired tutors”(PBS, para. 3).  This was an example of what Dr. White discuses in class. He calls this civil disobedience which is, “when an individual or group of people decided whether to obey “the law of the state” or “higher law” (Dr. Whites Notes). A modern day example of this civil obedience was Dr. Martin Luther King. He used nonviolent speeches and campfires to promote the equality of man. If it weren’t for this civil disobedience, there would have never been a change.  Blacks were learning to read and write and the change was soon to appear.

           Education became a community task. It was passed on from a generation to another. A slave who had some background in reading and writing would pass his knowledge down to his children, who would pass down knowledge to friends and other family members as well. Although laws were created to prevent the teaching of slaves because of scares of rebellion, the slaves were eventually educated. It did not take long for the slaves to learn about what was going on in their lives, and to gain knowledge that something had to be done.

As a future teacher, I only wish that my students would have this hunger to learn in my classroom. Although many of us think education to be a task, it is something that opens your eyes to a whole new world. Being eager to learn is something we do not see very often, but I hope it is something that can be brought back into the education world, because knowledge gives you power and confidence, and with that, you can do anything you want to do.

Work Cited

PBS. PBS. Web. 1 May 2015.   <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/experience/education/history2.html>.

Langhorne, Monique. "Black Self-help Educational Efforts." Black Self-help Educational Efforts. 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://academic.udayton.edu/race/04needs/education06.htm>.

Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. 1 Jan. 2015. Web. 1 May 2015. <http://spartacus-educational.com/USASeducation.htm>.

Dr. Whites Class Notes