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Period: to
The life of Anthony Johnson and his sons
Anthony Johnson and other Africans went from owning property to being property. -
Act X 1639, Africans cannot have guns.
This Act shows that Negroes can't own guns. They can be fined at any time by the Governor and/or Council. This Act really affects the Africans because without guns they can't hunt. That means that they cannot get any meat without having to buy it from somebody. Of course, since they're an African, nobody will want to sell them anything. This means that they have little or no meat. No meat means no protein. So, just by taking away guns, Africans are now deprived of protein. -
Document A: Anthony Johnson gets Land.
This Document shows that Anthony Johnson, a former servant, owned land. That is important because it showed that Negroes could still own land. Even though they couldn't own guns, they could get land. Now, they could have their own farms and grow their own food. Hunting wasn't as necessary as it was before. And they didn't have to rent out or buy a house now either. It could be built right on their property. -
Document B: Anthony Johnson gets a slave
Document B shows that former servant, Anthony Johnson, owned slaves. This is important because it shows that even though Anthony Johnson knew what it fetl like to be a slave, he still got one. Now, he could fit in with the white men. He could have cheap labor. Now, he didn't have to work nearly as hard. Even though this was sort of a hypocritical moment, Anthony was only fitting in. This was another step closer to diminishing progress. -
Act I: You can 'Casually' kill your slave
This Act shows that it is now legal to kill your slave, since it is the only way punish them. As a slave, their service time couldn't be extended. This was the way that people thought would be a good punishment. This Act meant the loss of legal protection for a slave's life. At any moment, if thought necessary, they could be killed. Even if the slave really did no harm, if the master wished, the slave would be dead. No questions asked. -
Chapter XXII: Negro, Mulatto, and Indian Slaves now property
This Act was the final straw. The progress is completely diminished. The show is over. The fat lady has sung. Now, any slave that was not white, was property. Just like a chair is property. They were treated as property too. They were not paid. They were barely provided for. They were given the bare minimum for everything. Because they were property. Who cared about property?
