Anthony Johnson And Slavery

Slavery is an American embarrassment but that didn’t prevent it from happening. Anthony Johnson was considered a slave himself, but was determined to become a successful one. In 1621 Johnson was purchased and moved to Northampton, Virginia from Jamestown, Virginia to work on a tobacco plantation to work as what people would debate an indentured servant rather than a slave. Working on these tobacco plantations, as stated in the book, was hell for indentured servants and slaves. On Good Friday in 1622 the plantation that Johnson was working on was attacked by Indians several people were killed, but out of the twelve survivors Johnson was one. He eventually moved to another plantation where he met the love of is life Mary, they tied the knot

and Mary bore Anthony four children. For over thirty years Anthony and his wife were respected for their “hard labor and known service”. During the 1640’s the Johnson family made a great income by raising livestock.
Johnson was a black successful freeman in a predominantly white society. Being that, in order for him to stay successful he had to work his way around the system to his benefit. Johnson made himself fit in with whites because he even had his own black slave. Him having a slave made it seem like he had a sense of belonging in the white-dominated society. Johnson went to court to get Robert Parker, a white man, punished for meddling with his slave and trying to set him free. He worked his way around the court system so well that he received his slave back and Parker had to “make payment for all charges in this suite”.
Johnson’s acts alone with a tad bit of outside help from his wife made him a successful man. He was a headright over acres of land and that’s one way he was successful as well as raising livestock for a reliable income. Anthony Johnson having the ability to work the “system” helped him survive and be profitable in the white society.