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The life of Anthony Johnson and his sons
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Document A - Anthony Johnson acquires land. continued...
anyone could own and make money off property. In the colony at that time, because laws were just being figured out, anyone could purchase, own, and thrive off property. Anthony Johnson was at such a place in society that he could walk up to a white Englishman, say, "I want to divide this land so that half is mine," and have the Englishman agree without hesitation. Anthony got land of his own accord on the 10th of July 1645; he had the same rights as any other Englishman at the time. -
Document A - Anthony Johnson acquires land.
"The said Negro told this deponent saying now: Mr. Taylor and I have divided our corn, and I am very glad of it for now I know my own...I know my own ground and will work when I please and play when I please...I am very well content with what I have."
Anthony Johnson was a black man living in 1640s Virginia. The colony was still navigating which laws would work best, and so everyone pretty much had the same abilities and rights. There were both black and white indentured servants and slaves, and -
Document B - continued
eventually took his family - not the court as usual - to persuade him to back down and settle for losing the case. This shows that he was a man of great influence who would not be silenced or give up at any cost. The water was getting hotter, but Anthony didn't seem to want to surrender anytime soon. -
Document B - Anthony Johnson petitions for his slave (John Casar).
"He had demanded his freedom of Anthony Johnson his master and further said that he had kept him his servant...Anthony Johnson said he had the negro for his life, but Mr. Robert and George Parker said they know that the negro had an indenture..."
At this time, Anthony Johnson had enough power to own property, a plantation, and slaves. He also had enough power to go to court over those slaves, a right that was not yet denied to him by the white English lawmakers. He fought hard in the court - it -
Act IV - continued
cut back on personal supplies and luxuries. This law almost definitely made Anthony discouraged, because it was targeted specifically at his race and restricted him greatly. -
Act IV - Negroes or mulattos could not buy Christian servants.
"It is enacted that noe negroe or Indian though baptised and enjoyned their owne ffreedome shall be capable of any such purchase of christians..."
Anthony Johnson already had problems of his own, and this one presented a new one. He could no longer buy servants that were baptized. This made it harder for him to get labor to help on his land, and the lack of labor probably cut profits by a lot, which hurt his personal economy. Less and less income came into his bank, and subsequently he had to -
Chap. IV - blacks could not hold office.
This law turned the water on the stove way up. This law probably made Anthony Johnson angry, because powerful and influential as he was, now he could not advance much in society as a consequence of the Englishmen's lawmaking ability. The Englishmen made this law because they thought that free blacks were getting too powerful and they needed a sense of job security. This law would put major restrictions on Anthony's liberties and would put a ceiling on how far he could go in life. It was almost -
Chap. IV - continued
boiling point. -
Chap. XXII - continued
He never knew what might happen next to himself, his land or the few freedoms he had left. Life was growing hard for a free African in the new colony of Virginia, and Anthony witnessed it all. -
Chap. XXII - Slaves to be real estate.
As the noose slowly tightened around Anthony's freedoms, and racial barriers were put up all over the place, this law was the one that snapped the tension that was building up. Slaves were now real estate.
Anthony had to make very precise and careful choices now - the monetary value of his slaves was sure to differ, and buying and selling was going to be difficult and extremely economically intense. He also had to watch out for himself and his family, because now racial prejudice was all around.
