Anthony Johnson Beliefs

The first African Americans that were put to work in Jamestown were not treated in the way that people traditionally think of early slavery. In fact they were treated just as the indentured servants that had come from England were treated. This does not mean that they were treated with any sympathy or given easy work, but that they just were not discriminated by the color of their skin. In the beginning of the 1600s all servants had the same dream, to one day be free. In 1641, a black slave by the name of Anthony Johnson, was freed and given his own land to start his new life as an American (Johnson et al, Africans, 39). At this point in time the only things that separated people were if you were an owner or a servant and if you were a Christian or not. At some point in the mid 1700s something changed the way that the colonists saw things. All of a sudden there was no longer equal treatment of white and black slaves, the darker the color of ones skin was the worse off their life became. In 1640, three slaves tried escaping to Maryland but were unsuccessful, when they were brought upon the court two of the

John Coleman Boyd was born March 16, 1802. He settled in Chambers County, Alabama. He purchased land that was previously held by they Creek Indians and built a house. The original house was built with native fieldstone by slave labor. The home was known as the “Rock House.” Under the rock rooms there was room to store fruit, vegetables, and other produce. There was a smoke house for curing and preserving meat products. These were all a necessity to survive. In the grove there were log cabins that were the slave quarters. Today all that remains of the cabins is a lone chimney. John Coleman Boyd had about 1,900 acres and he acquired other properties. After looking in further it was shown that John Coleman’s total estate was valued at $88,000 and that he owned 42 slaves. John Coleman told a good friend Sam Jeter that a man should not stay in one place too long. Because of this John Coleman went to Northeast Texas there he purchased some land. He made his decision to move to Texas, he got the wagon train to be loaded and ready to leave. The night before they were going to leave John Coleman suffered a stroke. During his illness John Coleman continued to manage his Boyd Tank properties by having some slaves pull him around the farm in a rickshaw-type cart. During his illness his wife Elizabeth sold some of his properties in Texas. He later dies on March 2, 1861.

Relationships of power that featured in “Virginian Luxuries” (Document 1) include the relation between white power and African American slaves. On the left side of the portrait, their seems to be a white male kissing an enslave women, which is very ironic during this time period. On the left side of the portrait, it seems to be a white slave

With more in common than being dependable, poor, black Virginians, Earnest Baugh and William Ball would have but one fate. The two men likely never knew each other, but as nearly all blacks from the state of Virginia they were accustomed to provide services to white employers. However, in contrast to generations past, they would expect to be paid for their labour. Alas, in their final run, Earnest and William, like their earlier slave ancestors, would not be.

At the age of 100 , a former slave , Richard Toler, was interviewed about his life . Richard Toler was born a slave in Campbell County which is located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Both of his parents, named George Washington Toler and Lucy Toler, were slaves for a man by the name of Henry Toler. Including Richard, his parents had three children and they were all boys. Richard Toler , along side with his family, grew up in a cabin that was in the back of what he described as “the big house”.

For example, the authors used, among other materials, the minutes of Council and General Court of colonial Virginia, which reveals laws passed such as one relating to the “punishment of runaway servants”, where following a multi-racial escape, the law drew little distinction between co-conspirators of different races (McIlwaine, 466). It is a very effective research strategy. The authors imply strongly that if we were to look at this culture objectively, without our presupposed notions of race relations in 17th century Virginia, we would assume that wealth, mainly property, was the dividing social characteristic, and not race, as it would be for the next couple centuries. Breen’s and Innes’ research strategy is compelling. By relying more on original source materials, as opposed to others’ summaries and compilations, they are able to achieve that objectivity. Any attempt to find facts or narratives counter to the most recognized ones can only hope to do so by using original sources.

On page 8 of the document he states “I have outlined a number of differences among the slaves, and make them bigger. I use FEAR, DISTRUST, and ENVY for control purposes” Willie Lynch use these

Breen and Innes do a great job suggesting that a person’s conduct, not necessarily their race, played the major role in early Virginia. They make an inadvertent argument that dominance and submission were the real issue when it came to owning property at the time, not race. The large plantation owners intimidated the smaller farmers and landowners. Blacks were on the same playing field when compared along with the small farmers and landowners. Sadly, this did not last with the entrance of racial mindsets as aforementioned. There is also an argument that even though the hardest working blacks could work their way out of slavery and into freedom, they could maintain the wealth it took to perpetuate that freedom. The growing plantation system and the growing black population is what brought an end to the equal status of the free, black

The limitation of this book is that this book could only dedicate about 10 pages in the slavery in Virginia. Since it covered so much time period, some details were overlooked.

While the first two sections of the book provide the historical context of the settling of the Virginia colony, the last two demonstrate Morgan’s theory of how racism was developed to ensure a sustainable workforce. The rise of the labor theory demonstrates how slavery itself became a necessary business venture in Virginia while at the same time justified the Revolutionary concepts of liberty and equality for all white men. The belief that only the men, or white Englishmen

William Ball's grandparents had been slaves. They had taken on their owner's last name of Lewis but as Robert Lewis sold his 152 acre plantation, “Annfield”, to Sarah C Ball for nearly $30,000 in 1853, they decided, as many a previous slave did, to give their last slave owner's family name to their children.

This march was met by violent resistance by White community and Local authorities. Johnson provided an escort to send out the message that Black people are entitled to the same rights. This was resonant and may have created a rippling effect amongst White community, creating the idea of equality as being right. Due to Johnsons policy of ‘The great Society’ and ‘the war on poverty’, “Black unemployment decreased by 34% and the percentage of Blacks living under the poverty line decreased by 25%” (source 7). This suggests that Johnson’s aims were being fulfilled and creating a better society as intended, as oppose to Eisenhower who planted the seed of Civil Rights but did not maintain the attitude throughout his presidency and John F Kennedy who showed interest but no action was taken on his behalf. We can infer from this that the living standards of African-Americans improved due to Johnson’s involvement in The Civil Rights movement.

Through the relationships Johnson acquired while working at a tavern, he was able to have very influential white people help him emancipate himself. Regardless of the countless relationships with important figures in the community, Johnson was still looked at as a black man in society. Through the testimony in petitions, it is obvious that Johnson shows promise to others in the community. In Almost Free: A Story About Family and Race in Antebellum Virginia, thirty-eight members of the white community sign a testimony for Samuel Johnson. This proves that despite his color, white men believed he would be a great addition to society if emancipated. In contrast with that, a law prevented Samuel Johnson from staying in Virginia as a free man. People were concerned that a numerous population of free men could spark problems within the state.

obedient to the whites. He said if the slaves tried ever to revolt or try to escape they would burn in

The trip from Franklin county to Malden, West Virginia was the first he had ever taken. The trip took Booker’s family many days because all of them had to walk to whole way. They settled in a very small house with many other black and very poor white neighbors. His step-father soon found work for Booker and his brother John. They worked in the salt furnaces and coal mines.