To explore racial attitudes from the colonial period of the United States, a study examined advertising practices regarding announcements dealing with black slaves in colonial newspapers in Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. Careful scrutiny revealed no relationship between the editorial stance of a newspaper and the amount of slave advertising the newspaper carried. Overall the ads suggest that the northeast attitude toward slavery was that it was a not necessarily permanent status necessary to a functioning society rather than a condition based on racist assumptions or inherent deficiencies of the black race. Examination of ads showed that slave advertising fell into two categories: slaves for sale and runaways with regional characteristics. Findings also showed that sale advertisements emphasized the skillfulness of the individual slave rather than a passive, dependent personality, while runaway ads were couched in negative terms--that is, the slave was given to alcohol abuse, or considered artful and deceitful for having run away. Findings also disclose that, although the South Carolina press serves as the most rigid example of the cultural messages of slave advertising, perhaps due to its pronounced fear of slave rebellion, the runaway advertising in all colonies functioned as a way of binding slave owners together, similar to a trade association, perpetuating the obligation of all white people to participate in the maintenance of the "status quo." (Notes and tables of data are attached.) (NKA)