If a man wants to keep his property, he does not allow it to go free. He does not want itto be independent and strong, but rather, submissive and powerless. Knowledge is one kind of power. In many states, it was illegal to teach a slave how to read or write, for if slaves could read and write, they could also make their own " freedom papers." They might even read about other slave revolts and unite together to fight for their freedom. Slave owners obviouslydid not want their property to run away or fight back. Consequently, they tried to intimidate their slaves and keep them illiterate. From childhood, slaves were taught that they were nothing, that they would always be nothing. Blacks, it was also believed, were naturally not as intelligent as white people. Therefore, it was not worth the trouble to try to educate them. Whites gave their slaves poorly constructed cabins with dirt floors and then said that black people were dirty by nature. Blacks, they said, did not deserve nice houses because they could not keep their own cabins clean. Owners did not give their slaves any rewards or money for their labor and often beat them when they failed to do their work. They then accused blacks of being lazy, shiftless, and incompetent. These attitudes about blacks helped slave owners to justify the system of slavery and soon developed into stereotypes about an entire race of people.
如果一个人想保住自己的财产，他就不会让它自由。他不会要他独立和强大，恰恰相反，他只想让它顺从和无力。知识就是一种力量。在很多州，教奴隶读书写字是非法的，因为如果奴隶们能读会写，他们也就能做出自己的“自由证书”来。他们甚至还可能读到别的奴隶起义的事，从而团结起来为争取他们的自由而斗争。奴隶主显然不希望他们的财产——奴隶们逃走或反抗。因此，他们竭力恐吓他们的奴隶，并使他们一直处于文盲状态。奴隶们从小就受到训诫，他们是些微不足道的人，而且永远如此。人们还相信，黑人天生就不如白人聪明。因此不值得费神设法教育他们。白人让奴隶们住在简陋的、泥土地面的小屋里，然后便说黑人天生就肮脏。他们说，黑人不配住好房子，因为他们连自己的小屋都不能保持干净。奴隶主对奴隶的劳动并不付什么报酬或钱，而且经常在他们干不完活时打他们。然后他们便指责黑人懒惰无能、得过且过。这种对待黑人的态度帮助奴隶主使奴隶制度合法化，而且很快发展成为看待整个种族的一成不变的信条。