Question

Why did slave owners deny slaves the right to know who their parents were and when they were born?
a. to break down bonds of loyalty and love among family members
b. to pretend that slaves had children only when their masters allowed them to
c. to lie about the number of slaves who had white fathers
d. to make it easier to keep records on slave holdings

Answer 1

In Douglass' 'Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave", the author says that slave owners denied telling them their dates of birth and who their parents were in order to (A) break down bonds of loyalty and love among family members. In this way, slave owners were able to completely manipulate slaves.