In the preceding chapter, I referred to some of the things which the Negro brought with him out of slavery into his life of freedom that he used to his advantage. I shall now discuss those things that were to his disadvantage. We must bear in mind that one of the influences of slavery was to impress upon both master and slave the fact that labor with the hand was not dignified, was disgraceful, that labor of this character was something to be escaped, to be gotten rid of just as soon as possible. Hence, it was very natural that the Negro race looked forward to the day of freedom as being that period when it would be delivered from all necessity of laboring with the hand. It was natural that a large proportion of the race, immediately after its freedom, should make the mistake of confusing freedom with license. Under the circumstances, any other race would have acted in the same manner.
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