A
Particularly in the southern colonies, education tended to be reserved for the gentry and upper-class people (plantation owners mainly). Slaves were not educated; in fact, it was illegal to teach slaves to read or write. This stemmed from the fact that a large portion of education involved the Bible, slaves who read the Bible could be expected to convert to Christianity, and Christians are forbidden to enslave one another by their religion. Significant social and economic inequality persisted in the South well into the 20th century.