Anthony Johnson Indentured Servant Essay

The first African slaves were brought to the colony of Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. They were brought over so that they could aid the production of crops. Caucasians believed they were superior then the Africans thus making them slaves. Many believed they could profit from having slaves. Example: instead of paying someone to work the filed or do any hard labor whites used Africans as slaves. The Africans would work for free and the slave owners would save money. Realistically speaking the treatments of slaves varied from a mild mistreatment to a sadist horrific torture.

After extensive research I came across some interesting information on Anthony Johnson. Mr. Johnson came over to America in 1620 as an indentured servant. The meaning of indentured servant according to the dictionary is “A person who came to America and was

placed under contract to work for another over a period of time, usually seven years, especially during the 17th to 19th centuries. Generally, indentured servants included redemptions, victims of religious or political persecution, persons kidnapped for the purpose, convicts, and paupers.” Mr. Johnson went to court and demanded that he should have a slave. Johnson believed that John Casor be his slave for life. The crazy thing is that Johnson was brought to the United States as an indentured servant.

There are multiple stories out there on the Anthony Johnson case of him and his servant.

However I honestly believe none of it. The story of Anthony Johnson was used as a mean to justify Slavery not being “so bad” because even Africans do it amongst themselves. So with that said after some time Johnsons land was taken over by a white man only because he was

black.

The American Revolution took place between 1765 and 1783, the war was also known as the war of independence. Towards the end of the American Revolution the North noticed that slavery was unprofitable. The price of tobacco began to drop and the South also began to see the deflation. All of this took a turn in 1793 when the Great cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. This machine then substituted tobacco and the south found a new way to make profit. Thus making slavery important once again and cotton becoming the main crop.

Many people have been unaware of the truth behind the Civil War (1861- 1865). We have all been taught that the war begins because the South wanted to declare its independence from the North for the Confederacy. Or some might have been taught that The Union, fought over it survival due to the prosperity of the Confederacy Or the North Among the 34 states in January 1861, seven Southern slave states individually declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy, often simply called the South, grew to include eleven states, and although they claimed thirteen states and additional western territories, the Confederacy was never diplomatically recognized by any foreign count what we call the Emancipation Proclamation. We have all been taught to believe Abraham Lincoln freed the
slaves. Which he did but not for the reasons we were all taught to believe.

The truth is Abraham Lincoln did not free the slaves because having slaves was morally wrong or inhumane. The main reason Mr. Lincoln freed the slaves was because of capitalism. What is capitalism? Well according to the dictionary Capitalism means “ an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.” So if you think about it slavery was abolished because it benefits the United States not because it was morally wrong.

Let’s talk about how slavery affected African American families. Like all parents they wanted to protect their children from the harsh acts that were going on. However due to the fact that they were of color they claimed they would not make it far in life or have a bright future. Once children got older they would have to become slaves themselves. So it was pretty much a chain reaction when it came down to slaves.

Enslaved people could not leally marry in America, due to the fact that the law considered them a property instead of an actual human being. Since they were considered a property they could not enter into a contract. Which made sense as to why they could not legally marry. The jumping of the broom is what slaves did in or to symbolize unity the couples. This became a tradition to the slaves because they could not marry. Slavery ended in 1865 and that was when they were able to marry.

Slavery was very hard on colored families, often families were separated through the sale of loved ones.

These decisions were beyond the control of the slaves. Many slave owners assigned partners to their slaves even if they didn’t want to. The slave owners used this to their advantage. May people believe that the Emancipation Proclamation issued in 1862 by Abraham Lincoln is what actually freed the slaves. Although the Emancipation Proclamation is a Significant symbolic, it did not elimate slavery in the United States. According to TheRoot.com in 1860 there were 3.0 million enslaved African Americans, which means that at the end of the Civil War, 3.4 black people remained in bondage in spite of the Emancipation Proclamation. In other words, the 13th amendment helped a great

deal.

The 13th amendment which was passed by the congress on January 31 1865. The amendment states that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime where the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their Jurisdiction.

Slavery was not the only horrific thing that happened in the United States. The Salem Witch Trials had to be by far one of the darkest, scariest trials known to American history. It all started around 1692 in Salem, Massachusetts where a minister noticed that his daughter and some neighborhood friends started having fits. The village doctor was unable to come up with anything else, so his conclusion was that the little girls were victims of witchcraft. The young girls discussed how there were people in the village that wanted to lure them into witchcraft and how witches could make their spirits appear to them. The girls accused Sarah Good, Sarah Osburn, and Tituba of witchcraft. During the courtroom, the girls claimed that they could see spirits there. The ladies were all thrown into jail because of the trial. One lady confessed to consorting with Satan and while the girls remained “unfixed”, these fits began to spread to other people in the village.

In the spring of 1692, a new appointed governor, William Phips, ordered the establishment of a new, special court to handle the witchcraft cases. As more and more accusations were made, more people were thrown into jail. It seemed as if people were coming up with confessions out of nowhere as to how they were exposed to extreme torture from witches. So many witches would not confess to such crimes. Those that wouldn't confess were sent to death by hanging. A lot of others never even made it to trial.

People back in Massachust had no idea what was really going on. If they were acused of being a witch and they denied it they would be burned to death. However of they said it was true they would be burned as well, so either way they were going to die. Many young people accused of being witches died and the caios was ridicoulus. Familes were torn apart and even children died.
In conclusion the United States had a dark and scary history. Both Slavery and the Salem Witch trials were in humane and uncalled for acts. Slavery lasted for quite a few years while the Salem witch trials only lasted from February 1692- May 1693. Both of these acts were both horrible and very sad times for the United States. The good thing is that eventually slavery and the Salerm Witch trials were eventually frowned upon and people learn that they were unjustified acts.