Article Reprint
Emancipated Blacks had hoped to chart their own destiny but the odds were stacked mightily against them. Most freed slaves were skilled in agriculture and the building trades, but few had ever en-gaged in any form of commerce; indeed, many had never even seen money or known of its role in their lives. In 1870, nine of ten Black adults could not read; the tenth had no power to dispute what he could read. Although there were attempts to educate the ex-slave after centuries of legally enforced ignorance, such efforts were meager and often cynical and proved no match for the challenges he faced. The plight of ex-slaves “Toby” and “Govie” illustrates the immense difficulties facing the new Americans:
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