These colaborers included at this time the Baptists and Methodists who, thanks to the spirit of toleration incident to the Revolution, were allowed access to Negroes bond and free.
With all of these new opportunities Negroes exhibited a rapid mental development.

Intelligent colored men proved to be useful and trustworthy servants; they became much better laborers and artisans, and many of them showed administrative ability adequate to the management of business establishments and large plantations.

Moreover, better rudimentary education served many ambitious persons of color as a stepping-stone to higher attainments.

Negroes learned to appreciate and write poetry and contributed something to mathematics, science, and philosophy.

Furthermore, having disproved the theories of their mental inferiority, some of the race, in conformity with the suggestion of Cotton Mather, were employed to teach white children.
Observing these evidences of a general uplift of the Negroes, certain educators advocated the establishment of special colored schools.