Reading Is Power

Reading, as a fundamental skill in literacy, was a very appealing aspect of learning for the freed African Americans in the early 19th century. In Woman's "True" Profession by Nancy Hoffman, the passages show more desire for African American slaves and freedmen to read than to learn in other subjects. Around the Civil War period, (1861-1865) many black people were educated for the first time. Their background with slavery gives some explanation for why reading was more advantageous.

As most blacks were illiterate during slavery, many slave owners were able to use this inability to manipulate their slaves. These owners would use religion to justify the slaves' position in life. By using the bible as their source of deception, the owners twisted passages to convince the blacks that they were fated for slavery. Since the slaves were not able to read the bible, they had little say in the validity of the owners' statements. Therefore, the ability to read gave the slaves a chance to form their own opinions about the will of God as well as falsifying the owner's description of the passages.

In regard to religion, many slaves already had the desire to read the bible because most of them were deeply religious. For example, the woman in Mary Ames' journal came to class "with a prayer-book, asking to be taught to read it." (p. 166) There are also numerous accounts in Hoffman's passages that display the slaves letting out their grief through religion. Another core belief among the black people was that salvation could be achieved through religion.

The ability to read also gave the slaves a stronger public voice. By reading anti-slavery and abolitionist pamphlets, literate slaves could influence other slaves to start a revolt. Reading was also helpful for slaves that wanted to escape, since their sense of direction could be improved by reading signs. For freedmen, the desire to read was connected to their