In the United States before the Civil War, it was illegal to... A. sell a slave to another master. B. take a slave's child away. C. teach a slave to read or write. D. punish a slave without a good reason.
In the United States before the Civil War, it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write.
Explanation:
In the southern states where slavery was legal and most white families owned slaves, it was illegal to educate a slave to become literate.
The act of teaching a slave was unanimously criminalized by all the southern states because the leaders of these states feared the idea of slave getting educated and revolting against them.
The states had laws in place to punish the one who tried to educate slaves.
