Slavery in the 18th century was the worst for African Americans. Observers of slaves suggested that slave characteristics such as clumsiness, disorder, smallness, destructiveness, and inability to learn were "better." Despite white society's belief that slaves were nothing more than laborers when in reality they were part of an elaborate and well-defined social structure that gave them an identity and supported them in their silent protest . In their neighborhoods, slaves expressed themselves with a certain freedom. white slave owners. Religion provided a similar sense of freedom and also provided mental support to slaves. By going to church, slaves created a Christianity that emphasized the salvation of all races, including slaves. To avoid overwork, slaves tried to work at their own pace and resist acceleration. Some of the techniques used to prevent labor included feigning illness or pregnancy, breaking or misplacing tools, or feigning ignorance. Unless slaves lived near free territory or a town where they could blend into a free black population, they knew that permanent escape was unlikely. It was rare for a large group of slaves to attempt a mass escape and maintain independent freedom for extended periods of time. On many occasions, groups of escaped slaves attacked white slave patrollers or attempted to bribe them. When slaves were desperate enough, they openly resisted their masters. There are many examples of how slaves refused to accept punishment and fought against their white masters who tried to punish them. Slave resistance was rarely successful because most masters did not tolerate it. Whether slaves physically or verbally opposed a white man, it was dangerous. Slave owners constantly tried to erase African culture from the memories of their slaves. They claimed that slavery had saved black people from the barbarians of Africa and introduced them to “higher” white civilization. Some slaves came to believe this propaganda, but the continued influence of African culture in the slave community added slave resistance to changing African culture. Some slaves, for example, responded to English names in the fields but used African names in their neighborhoods. The lives of slaves were filled with surviving traits of African culture, and their artwork, music, and other differences reflected this influence. Slaves also injured themselves to avoid work, punishment, or sale. They cut off their fingers, hands, toes, or feet, and disfigured their bodies in various other ways to reduce their value as slave property..