There was a time in American history where African Americans were able to be free and prosper. There is also a mention of how some were able to prosper while not being free. This was during the seventeenth century prior to the Virginia Slave Codes being put into place. It was during this time that discrimination existed but it was based around economic standing rather than a racial one. These were the central ideas that T.H. Breen and Stephen Innes try to prove in Myne Owne Ground. They do this by telling the story of Anthony a Negro, otherwise known as Anthony Johnson. Anthony Johnson was an African American who lived in Virginia during the seventeenth century. It is debated whether or not he was a servant or a slave when he first arrived though Breen and Innes say he was a slave. As his life went on Johnson …show more content…
Their use of the court case involving Johnson, Parker, and Casor was a great example of how successful Anthony Johnson had gotten. Not only did it show that he was successful enough to thrive in a white community but to also be a slaveholder himself. It was not even questioned if an African American could even own slaves. Another excellent use of evidence that I found was their use of the inventory records of Bridgett Charlton’s estate. The records showed that even those who were enslaved were still able to make gains. In other cases that meant buying their own freedom and in this one it meant that she actually owed her slaves for the tobacco they grew. I also do not think they showed much bias in the book because while you can say they used specific examples of success stories, those stories also showed the other side of it where another African was not as successful. They even end the book talking about how the window to be successful was closing and that Africans were not any different they just lost the basis of genuine freedom, owning