Feature that Dipwad Farrakhan! Ha! Ha!
Posted on 03/07/2013 9:16:14 AM PST by Altura Ct.
One of the most vexing questions in African-American history is whether free African Americans themselves owned slaves. The short answer to this question, as you might suspect, is yes, of course; some free black people in this country bought and sold other black people, and did so at least since 1654, continuing to do so right through the Civil War. For me, the really fascinating questions about black slave-owning are how many black "masters" were involved, how many slaves did they own and why did they own slaves?
The answers to these questions are complex, and historians have been arguing for some time over whether free blacks purchased family members as slaves in order to protect them -- motivated, on the one hand, by benevolence and philanthropy, as historian Carter G. Woodson put it, or whether, on the other hand, they purchased other black people "as an act of exploitation," primarily to exploit their free labor for profit, just as white slave owners did. The evidence shows that, unfortunately, both things are true. The great African-American historian, John Hope Franklin, states this clearly: "The majority of Negro owners of slaves had some personal interest in their property." But, he admits, "There were instances, however, in which free Negroes had a real economic interest in the institution of slavery and held slaves in order to improve their economic status."
In a fascinating essay reviewing this controversy, R. Halliburton shows that free black people have owned slaves "in each of the thirteen original states and later in every state that countenanced slavery," at least since Anthony Johnson and his wife Mary went to court in Virginia in 1654 to obtain the services of their indentured servant, a black man, John Castor, for life.
(Excerpt) Read more at theroot.com ...
Feature that Dipwad Farrakhan! Ha! Ha!
The first black slave in the Colonies got his freedom and bought a slave. Now all slaves were black. Lots of people that came over here were indentured servants.
Well, we certainly know they captured and sold them.
Not only was Johnson the first slave holder — a black man enslaving another black man, but Johnson was responsible for institutionalizing: (1) blacks as slaves (property) and (2) slaves could not own property or buy their freedom.
The Johnson family was quite prosperous in VA for 40 years, but when he died and his estate was to be passes on, it was suddenly found he was a “slave” and could not own or transfer property.
Moral: Johnson won the slave battle and lost the slavery war.
There were also black soldiers in the Confederate Army.
obama’s people. Nothing much has changed.
To the headline: yes, and they still do
I think there is some question as to whether or not the first slave holder was actually black, it depends on how you want to define it. But there is no doubt at all that blacks owned slaves for about as long as slavery existed in this country.
Mexicans in pre-Civil War California owned Indian slaves.
William Johnson was a free black businessman in Natchez, MS and owned slaves. He was a business associate of my 3d Great Grandfather, Dr. Samuel Hogg. His diary is online and makes for fascinating reading
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/maai/identity/text4/williamjohnsondiary.pdf
Anthony Johnson is an interesting case. An indentured servant from Angola who served out his contract and was paid in the promised land. He then got an indentured servant of his own. Johnson then managed to convert the contracted servant into full slavery in a court room.
At least 25 years ago I read an article in a magazine, quite certain it was the Smithsonian magazine, about the first slaveowner in the Virginia colony being a black man.
Obama owns about 300 Million or so. It comes with the job of Community Organizer and Chief.
Of course blacks “owned” black slaves.
It is so well documented that liberals cannot spin the facts.
“Lots of people came over here as indentured servants.” Yes, they did. The “Transportation Act” was passed after the Battle of Culloden and Scots were sent to North Carolina to work making pitch for His Majestie’s ship hulls. Thus the name Tar Heels.
Blacks caught, sold and owned slaves.
When did liberals care about facts?
Elsewhere in the south, black slave ownership could be found, but it was more common in colonial times, slowly dying out as legal and economic controls on blacks, slave and free, became more strict.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.