Slavery: Harriet Smith V. George Johnson

Slavery has always been viewed as one of the most scandalous times in American history. It appears that the entire institution of slavery has been capsulized as white masters torturing defenseless African Americans. However, not every slave has encountered this experience. In this essay I will present the life of two former slaves Harriet Smith and Mr. George Johnson and how similar as well as different their experiences were based on interviews conducted with each of them. The negative aspects of slave life were undeniably heinous and for that reason especially, it is also important to also reveal the lives of slaves whom were treated with dignity and respect.
Harriet Smith was interviewed by John Henry Faulk in 1941. Harriet Smith was

born into slavery and had no knowledge of her actual age aside from the approximation other slave children had told her. Smith describes her experience as a slave without receiving any lashings and with a master that treated her and all the other slaves they owned very well. Harriet’s master allowed his slaves to ride his horses to church and while on the plantation. Harriet Smith stated that she was a great horseback rider as were the other slaves. Although she was treated well, she was unable to learn how to read and write just like most of the slaves.
Smith worked plowing fields and laying corn, she also picked cotton and stated that she was able to pick 500 pounds of cotton a day . Smith was able to attend “prayer meetings” held in different homes as well as evening church in Mountain City which she admit to not enjoying nor understanding the preacher . After the “break up” she went on to live with her aunt and uncle and soon married at the age of what she believed to be 17 or 18 . She would later end up remarrying three times. Her first husband was a well-esteemed politician by both the white and black community. A white man without any clear motives later killed her husband. Her second husband she gave no reason as to why she divorced him and her divorce from her third husband was due to problems with his son. Smith recalls of her fourth husband, an Army veteran, tried to whip her unsuccessfully due to his old age as well as infidelity. Her current status however was not revealed.
George Johnson was a slave named and owned by Jefferson Davis. He was also a fortunate slave who had a good master. Jefferson Davis did not beat his slaves either. In fact he was admired and obeyed by all blacks. Just like Harriet Smith, George Johnson lived amongst others slaves including his grandfather and father. His father was a very young man. George Johnson was bought in Richmond, VA along with his grandfather and father. His father learned how to read and write from a white woman in Richmond before being bought.
One day his father was outside of the house writing with a piece of chalk that he took from one of Jefferson Davis’s shops. President Davis asked the cook to find out who was able to read write and he will than take her to the market to purchase a new dress. Once Jefferson Davis learned of George Johnson’s father’s ability to read and write, he opened a school where all of his slaves were able to become educated. Davis owned five plantations. He took all the slaves from his plantations and educated them all. Once educated Jefferson Davis began giving his slaves job titles such as engineer, sawmills, farmers, carpenters, and many more. Since they were able to read, the slaves on the plantations received a list of things that needed to be done; instead of having an overseer standing over them and being whipped to make sure they have completed their tasks.
Jefferson Davis was pro-slavery and owned 74 slaves by 1845.

Davis once stated, “If slavery be a sin, it is not yours. It does not rest on your action for its origin, on your consent for its existence. It is a common law right to property in the service of man; its origin was Divine decree. "(Dodd & Woodworth, 1907) He also said "African slavery, as it exists in the United States, is a moral, a social, and a political blessing." Although he believed slavery was not wrong, Davis was not harsh or mean to any of his slaves. He gave his first slave that he purchased in the early 1800’s the position of overseer, which was an unusual position for slaves at the time. He respected his slaves and did not want bad things to happen to them. The slaves appreciated him and obeyed his

wishes.
Davis organized a band for slaves called the Davis Bend Band. He hired someone to come teach music to the 14 men he gathered for his band. The band was so good that he bought them uniforms and took them wherever he went. George Johnson left the Davis Bend Band in 1884.
After the war had occurred all Jefferson Davis’s slaves were able to take care of themselves by launching business’s with the skills they had acquired. George Johnson moved to Vicksburg and stayed there until 1887. His cousin Isaiah got in touch with a white man named Major McGinnis, one of the supervisors of a railroad company. He gave him his part of his land where he could dig and make a set up for blacks. Johnson continued with his music and created a band in his new town.
Harriet Smith and Mr. George Johnson both had a similar experience whilst growing up as slaves. They were both fortunate to have never felt the crack of a whip against them by their masters. Harriet Smith as well as George Johnson were both raised with family, which at the time was unusual most slave families were torn up apart and sold to different masters, Smith had her mother as well as grandmother and Johnson had his father and grandfather. Both slaves were also allowed uncommon privileges, Smith’s master allowed his slave’s access to his horses, Smith learned how to ride hoarse back quite well. Johnson also partook in extracurricular activities as well including horse racing among other things. Attending church was a service limited to many slaves often time having to hold secret meetings with uneducated preachers, Smith and Johnson however were able to attend church and participate in dances.
While Harriet Smith and Mr.

George Johnson both had a comparable experience during their lives as slaves, their experience did differ in many ways. Johnson had much more freedom and privileges than that of Smith. Smith was not given the opportunity to obtain a common education such as reading and writing. Johnson’s master, Davis, was particularly invested in the education of his slaves. Davis’s school he was able to produce slave engineers, farmers and carpenters among other professions . Johnson was also relived of the more arduous physical labor when he became a member of Jeff Davis’s band, he was also exposed to a lot more due to his traveling while in the band. Smith however worked on the fields plowing and picking cotton. Due to Johnson education and talent he went on to be rather successful in the music industry, unlike Smith whom didn’t amount to much in her life as a free African American. Smith doesn’t seem to hold any ill will towards her masters and considers herself lucky to have had such a peaceful slave life. Johnson however, holds a much deeper appreciation for his master and admits to keeping in contact with his former master Davis and occasionally requesting financial aid, which his former master obliges to . Amongst all the differences the most significant would be the outcome of their lives after

slavery.
We can all agree that slavery was, certainly, a tragic time for the African American race but just as the more appalling accounts of abuse towards slaves are exposed so must the accounts of the more “privileged” slaves. The narratives from Harriet Smith and Mr. George Johnson depict just that, a slave life free of physical violence and constant state of fear. Harriet Smith as well as George Johnson were both fortunate to have masters that beheld a sensible and astute approach to their slaves and their well-being.