George Johnson had the unique experience of being owned by Jefferson Davis and his family. 1Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America, elected in 1861, and a fierce opponent of abolition and a supporter of states rights. With this reputation, I found it interesting that Mr. Johnson described him as a fair, even kind at times, owner. His experience is very different than the norm. The only incident he recounts that even hints at violence against a slave, is the story of a young boy who was having trouble keeping up with the rest of the group while hoeing a line. The foreman wanted to whip him, but the boy ran to Jefferson Davis and informed him of the incident. Jefferson Davis sent the boy to get breakfast, and fired the foreman.2And even though Mr. Johnson had been free for almost 80 years at the time of the interview, he still referred to his former master as Master Jeff, and spoke highly of him. I’m not sure that I’ve ever encountered this attitude towards a former master in the accounts of freed slaves I’ve read.
The two timeline layers intersect in 1860, when Lincoln was elected, and in 1941 when the interview was conducted. I included the end of the Civil War in 1865 as more context, even though Mr. Johnson didn’t explicitly mention any events in 1865. History is often tracked through a military lens. Lincoln’s election was a triggering event in the Civil War, the Civil War ended in 1865, and the United States entered World War II in 1941. Personal histories are tracked in a more specialized and day to day way, whereas the most common lens for wider histories is the so called “Great Man” lens. I was surprised Mr. Johnson didn’t talk about emancipation, or about the actual Civil War itself, as he was a young boy during those years. The interview itself was highly interesting, and if one were writing about the formation of towns and communities of color following the Civil War, it would be highly useful. Oral histories are often hard to track, especially if they’re oral tradition, or stories passed down for years. I think if they’re like this interview, a personal history being told by the subject themselves, and they’re recorded, oral histories can be beyond useful. It may be difficult to track timelines though, without the inclusion of specific dates. I had some trouble with this.
Mr. Johnson’s voice is very clear, and he doesn’t seem to need much prompting. He knows exactly what he wants to say, and the interviewers don’t need to interject much, and don’t interject much. They occasionally ask clarifying questions, but mostly just let Mr. Johnson speak. There are a few “uh huhs” interjected, but it’s mostly just a recording of Mr. Johnson talking about his life. It’s really interesting and feels very natural, like they’re just recording a conversation. I think that in the 1930’s and early 1940’s, historians realized that they needed to record the voices of these men and women who have lived through a truly insane portion of American history. Not only were these men and women born as slaves, but they lived to see slavery outlawed, the end of the Civil War, World War I, and in the case of some of them, World War II. I’m very glad they did. Weight is given to these histories when you hear them straight from the people who lived them.
- Lomax, Alan, Elizabeth Lyttleton Sturz, George Johnson, Lewis Wade Jones, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, and John W Work. Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Septemberpart 1 of 6. Mound Bayou, Mississippi, 1941. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941002_afs04777a/.
- Lomax, Alan, Elizabeth Lyttleton Sturz, George Johnson, Lewis Wade Jones, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, and John W Work. Interview with George Johnson, Mound Bayou, Mississippi, Septemberpart 6 of 6. Mound Bayou, Mississippi, 1941. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/afc1941002_afs04779b/.
