Why was it against the law in states in the USA to teach slaves to read or write?

With reading comes knowledge which would make it easier for them to protest. Slaveowners didn't want liberation of their labor machines so most held back foundational reading comprehension skills from their slaves.

d.)   when the us left nato after the end of the cold war and they had to evolve to focus on more humanitarian measures with the smaller budget

capitalism is an economic system that works around the concept of wealth creation in the pursuit of economic growth for the nation while mercantilism focuses on wealth accumulation through extraction of wealth which they believe is measured by the amwount of gold bollions that the nation has in its possession.