--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Two hundred years ago when slavery was…" description: "\"“Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? Beca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/ben-carson-3320_slavery_two-hundred-years-ago-when-slavery-was-g_3048195.jpg" --- # Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was… ![“Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? Because when you educate a man, you liberate a man.” quote by Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/ben-carson-3320_slavery_two-hundred-years-ago-when-slavery-was-g_3048195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/ben-carson-3320_slavery_two-hundred-years-ago-when-slavery-was-g_3048195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f7/ben-carson-3320_slavery_two-hundred-years-ago-when-slavery-was-g_3048195.jpg) > ““Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? Because when you educate a man, you liberate a man.”” [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Educating oppressed people empowers them and challenges oppressive systems. **In simple terms:** Education frees the oppressed. Key Takeaway Promote universal education. Themes human rights history empowerment Mood hopeful determined Type historical inspirational When to use this quote - schools - policy reform - activism - community programs Key Concepts literacy social justice Questions to Reflect On - Why is literacy a tool for liberation? - What barriers still block education today? A Different Perspective Oppression can persist despite education. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ago Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ago-slavery-4379231/) [Educate Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educate-man-2207869/) [Educate Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educate-slave-5057549/) [Slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) [Slavery Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery-going-1978382/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [Every year white people add 100 years to how long ago slavery was. I've heard educated white people say, 'slavery was 400 years ago.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/every-year-white-people-add-100-years-to-how-long-ago-slavery-was-i/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [There might be some sinister modern form of slavery going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peele/there-might-be-some-sinister-modern-form-of-slavery-going-on/) [Jordan Peele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peele/) > [If you are going to abolish slavery, that opens up all these other questions: what system of labor is going to replace slave labor?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-foner/if-you-are-going-to-abolish-slavery-that-opens-up-all-these-other/) [Eric Foner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-foner/) > [“The struggle against slavery went on forever, the struggle for women's rights has been going on for centuries, the effort to overcome"wage slavery"—that's been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-struggle-against-slavery-went-on-forever-the-struggle-for-women-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It is not a mind, it is not a body that we educate, but it is a man, and we must not make two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-not-a-mind-it-is-not-a-body-that-we-educate-but-it-is-a-man-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/you-educate-a-man-you-educate-a-man-you-educate-a-woman-you-educate-a/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [To educate is to give man the keys to the world, which are independence and love, and to give him strength to journey on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-marti/to-educate-is-to-give-man-the-keys-to-the-world-which-are/) [Jose Marti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-marti/) > [“If you educate a man, you educate an individual; education contributes to his individual growth; it becomes his ‘private property’, as it were. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-j-p-vaswani/if-you-educate-a-man-you-educate-an-individual-education-contributes/) [Dada J.P. Vaswani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-j-p-vaswani/) > [To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/to-educate-a-man-in-mind-and-not-in-morals-is-to-educate-a-menace-to/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [You don't educate a man by telling him what he didn't know, but by making him what he was not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/you-don-t-educate-a-man-by-telling-him-what-he-didn-t-know-but-by/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [If u educate a man u educate and individual but if u educate a woman u educate a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/if-u-educate-a-man-u-educate-and-individual-but-if-u-educate-a-woman/) [Unknow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/unknow/) > [Educate a man and you educate an individual. Educate a woman and you educate a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-shearly-cripps/educate-a-man-and-you-educate-an-individual-educate-a-woman-and-you/) [Arthur Shearly Cripps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-shearly-cripps/) > [“It’s sometimes said that if you send a boy to school, you educate a man; if you send a girl to school, you educate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-sometimes-said-that-if-you-send-a-boy-to-school-you-educate-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you educate a man you educate a person, but if you educate a woman you educate a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-manikan/if-you-educate-a-man-you-educate-a-person-but-if-you-educate-a-woman/) [Ruby Manikan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-manikan/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Ben Carson > [“We all have choices in the way we react to the words we hear. Our lives and the lives of all those around us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/we-all-have-choices-in-the-way-we-react-to-the-words-we-hear-our/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“to do only if you don’t have a good argument. This is also a good way to keep people at one another’s throats constantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/to-do-only-if-you-don-t-have-a-good-argument-this-is-also-a-good-way/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Our founding fathers placed so much emphasis on nurturing a well-educated populace because they knew that our system of democracy could not long survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/our-founding-fathers-placed-so-much-emphasis-on-nurturing-a-well/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If mediocrity becomes the norm, the quantity of outstanding producers will decline, as will general prosperity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-mediocrity-becomes-the-norm-the-quantity-of-outstanding-producers/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“If we are ever going to have adequate funding for health care and other major line items in our budget, however, we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/if-we-are-ever-going-to-have-adequate-funding-for-health-care-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“capitalism is an economic system in which individuals or corporate groups have the right to make private decisions and to acquire private property and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/capitalism-is-an-economic-system-in-which-individuals-or-corporate/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“A gigantic, bloated government has to keep itself busy in order to justify its existence; hence, you have more regulations and meddling in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/a-gigantic-bloated-government-has-to-keep-itself-busy-in-order-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Everyone should realize that today the average person lives to be about eighty years of age, the first twenty to twenty-five of which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/everyone-should-realize-that-today-the-average-person-lives-to-be/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“One of America’s most respected legacies is indeed that of rebelling for change.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/one-of-america-s-most-respected-legacies-is-indeed-that-of-rebelling/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The real question is, will we as Americans, accustomed to freedom, continue to sheepishly submit to the purveyors of political correctness without recognizing its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-real-question-is-will-we-as-americans-accustomed-to-freedom/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many well-meaning Americans have bought into the PC speech code, thinking that by being extra careful not to offend anyone we will achieve unity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-well-meaning-americans-have-bought-into-the-pc-speech-code/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Many in Europe saw an opportunity to escape the oppressive and overbearing governmental systems under which they languished, and these people emigrated in droves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/many-in-europe-saw-an-opportunity-to-escape-the-oppressive-and/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“As long as you have broad representation from many parts of society, representative government works extremely well. And it works even better when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/as-long-as-you-have-broad-representation-from-many-parts-of-society/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“The Constitution is quite clear that the government has the right to tax in order to support its programs, but there is nothing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/the-constitution-is-quite-clear-that-the-government-has-the-right-to/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) > [“Proverbs 11:9: Evil words destroy one’s friends; wise discernment rescues the godly. Proverbs 11:12: It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-carson/proverbs-11-9-evil-words-destroy-one-s-friends-wise-discernment/) [Ben Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) [Explore all 131 Ben Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-carson/) ## More Slavery quotes > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Single acts of tyranny may be ascribed to the accidental opinion of a day; but a series of oppressions, begun at a distinguished period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/single-acts-of-tyranny-may-be-ascribed-to-the-accidental-opinion-of-a/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Can you look forward to the future of our country and imagine any state of things in which, with slavery still existing, we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dale-owen/can-you-look-forward-to-the-future-of-our-country-and-imagine-any/) [Robert Dale Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dale-owen/) > [My favorite Founding Fathers, Christians like John Adams, were absolutely appalled by slavery, and did not own slaves. I think we're going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/my-favorite-founding-fathers-christians-like-john-adams-were/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Slavery, if it can be legalized at all, can be legalized only by positive legislation. Natural law gives it no aid. Custom imparts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/slavery-if-it-can-be-legalized-at-all-can-be-legalized-only-by/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [If he's - the inference is that somehow he thinks slavery is a - is a noble institution I would - I would strongly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-he-s-the-inference-is-that-somehow-he-thinks-slavery-is-a-is-a/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“Work is a vehicle with which man chases some fleeting destination called a full tummy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/work-is-a-vehicle-with-which-man-chases-some-fleeting-destination/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Being a slave is to have nothing but still having something left to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lalita-tedemy/being-a-slave-is-to-have-nothing-but-still-having-something-left-to/) [Lalita Tedemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lalita-tedemy/) > [Think about it: we went into slavery pagans; we came out Christians. We went into slavery pieces of property; we came out American citizens.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/think-about-it-we-went-into-slavery-pagans-we-came-out-christians-we/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [They don't really focus on that history here in America. I remember growing up as a kid, history class was very washed-over. They didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/they-don-t-really-focus-on-that-history-here-in-america-i-remember/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [We're living based on laws and ideas that we, as a society, embraced back in the days of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/we-re-living-based-on-laws-and-ideas-that-we-as-a-society-embraced/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [“To say to the slave who has not been emancipated 'Do not behave as a slave' is to mock his enslavement. But to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-murray/to-say-to-the-slave-who-has-not-been-emancipated-do-not-behave-as-a/) [John Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-murray/) [Browse all 2,997 Slavery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slavery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Two hundred years ago when slavery was going on it was illegal to educate a slave, particularly to teach them to read. Why do you think that was? 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