Free State Of Jones Analysis

The greatly acclaimed movie, Free State of Jones, has won great reputation for exposing the terror, invulnerability, and hardship that Blacks endured in the South into a two- hour long film. Like no other movie ever before produced, it brought about the realization of brutality that blacks underwent throughout their lives, even after being emancipated, to homes. The movie presented authentic facts that actually happened in the life of Newton Knight, the main protagonist who opposed to obey the protocol of the typical white Southerner, Democrat or racist. Free State of Jones is highly historically accurate in portraying characterization, events, and particular elements of the 19th century Civil War.

In the film, Newton Knight is represented

as a respectable, honorable leader of the Confederate rebellion. In the movie, it is depicted that Knight did not own any slave. As stated by Eric Foner, the author of the historical book Give Me Liberty, many yeomen farmers who planted their own crops to practice subsistence agriculture did not require an extra hand. Few other motives support this explanation. According to Knight’s son, he was a devoted religious men and therefore he did not posses any slaves because it was against his moral and Primitive Baptist principles. These religious values led him to establish a relationship with fugitive slaves in the swamp and freed slaves throughout the rest of his life.

The film also provided the viewers to take a glance at Knight’s sentimental life.

The movie introduced Serena Turner, Newton’s first wife, and Rachel Knight, Newton’s illegitimate wife due to Mississippi policies of interracial marriage. During the course of the movie, Serena and Rachel were living jointly on a farm in the small town of Soso, Mississippi owned by Knight, alongside with him. Both wifes, illustrated in the film, gave birth to Newton’s children in different time periods. In the research institution magazine, Smithsonian, the author Richard Grant asserts that after the Civil War ended, Newton took hold of his grandfather former slave, Rachel, and both had five children altogether. The author also incorporated Serena by affirming that she lived in Knight’s 160- acre farm and declaring that Knight never divorce her. Knight also fathered Serena’s children according to

Grant.

The film scattered a few clips of futuristic events, giving a sneak peek to the foundation of segregation.

In the film, Davis Knight, one of Newton’s grandson is seen on court eighty-five years later after the Civil War had ended and the Emancipation Proclamation was put in action. The clips portrayed a vicious lawyer charging Davis of violating a law that opposes interracial marriage between black and white races. Davis was punished and accused of being one-eighth black descent, therefore he could not legally marry his girlfriend. These events actually happened in real life. As claimed by Vikki Bynum, in Renegade South, this event happened in the Ellisville Courthouse in Ellisville, Mississippi. The author stated how Davis was a descendent from Newton and Serena, who were both white but he also had parentage from Rachel, since Rachel and Newton’s children developed interracial relationships because they were considered peculiar and odd for not following the traditional beliefs of the South. Davis was considered one-eighth black according to the state of Mississippi, even though he had white features, and therefore he’s marriage was deemed as unlawful. Davis was sentenced to five years in prison for not following the segregation regulations. After Davis spent few days in jail, his case was re-appealed and he was set free. Davis lived peacefully the rest of his

life.

At the beginning of the movie, Knight seemed to be angry over a law passed by the Confederate Army. One of Knight’s fellow companion read the act that clearly stated that any Confederate plantation landowner who owned twenty negro slaves, be excused from serving the Confederate Army. Wikipedia stated the testimonies of some witnesses that assured Knight deserted his military service because he was enraged over this new policy. As specified by Encyclopedia Virginia, this law came into effect right after Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation act, which gave the Confederacy states an anticipated period of time to free its slaves or if they did not, the Union will consider the deadline the official recruitment of Negro soldiers. The Twenty Negro Law did not apply to all white Southern citizens. Many yeoman farmers did not own Negroes, therefore the law did not apply to them. Wikipedia affirmed other elements that portrayed the real life of Newton Knight in the movie. After Knight and his band of rebels gained control of Jones County, they raised the United States flag by replacing the Confederacy flag over the County’s courthouse, just like in the movie. Women blowing cattlehorns to indicate the arrival of the Confederate army to seize farm goods, were illustrated in the movie as well as in real life.

The film profoundly delineated true events that personified Newton Knight as a reputable, spiritual men that helped the county to combat the injustices of the Confederate Army. Free State of Jones also added portions of realistic details that helped understand the viewer what was going on in that time period.