> because reading was not a common accomplishment This isn't true, not even in his lifetime. In 1870, the illiteracy rate among whites was 11%. It dropped even

> because reading was not a common accomplishment This isn't true, not even in his lifetime. In 1870, the illiteracy rate among whites was 11%. It dropped even lower after that. 89% seems pretty "common" to me. Blacks were much higher, but slavery had only just ended. That group hit 11% about 1947. https://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/lit_history.asp https://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/lit_history.asp