Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The discovery in 1938 of the diary and personal papers of William Johnson (ca. 1809-1851), a free Negro of Natchez, Mississippi, made possible the publication of this fascinating volume. Johnson's diary offers a firsthand account of a former slave who rose from harsh circumstances to become a successful businessman. It is also an intimate portrait of life and social relations in a southern town in the years leading up to the Civil War.
A barber by trade, Johnson was also a landlord, moneylender, slave owner, and small farmer, and despite his color he became a prominent, well-respected citizen of Natchez. Johnson kept a ledger on the various aspects of his thriving businesses, and in this ledger he also recorded his impressions of the daily occurrences of life around him. "I am always ready for Anything," reads one of his entries for 1845. This dictum is borne out in his acutely observed accounts of births and deaths, weddings and elopements, political campaigns and conventions, races and cockfights, concerts and trials, balls and epidemics--all related with a na ve yet passionate curiosity and with the private frankness of a man of color denied a public outlet for his opinions.
In a vividly colloquial voice, Johnson set down the whole of the Natchez scene for sixteen years. No other southern diary provides such a broad picture of numerous aspects of everyday life or reveals so many of the well-to-do free Negro's attitudes on timely questions. It is one of the most remarkable documents in American historiography.
Synopsis
The discovery in 1938 of the diary and personal papers of William Johnson (ca. 1809-1851), a free Black man who resided in Natchez, Mississippi, made possible the 1951 publication of this edited version of his journal. Johnson's diary offers a firsthand account of a formerly enslaved man who rose from appalling circumstances to become a successful businessperson. It is also an intimate portrait of life and social relations in a southern town in the years leading up to the Civil War.
A barber by trade, Johnson was also a landlord, moneylender, enslaver, and small farmer, who, despite his status as a free Black man living in a stridently racist society, became a prominent, well-respected citizen of Natchez. Johnson kept a ledger on the various aspects of his thriving businesses, and in this journal, he also recorded his impressions of the daily occurrences of life around him. "I am always ready for Anything," reads one of his entries for 1845. This dictum is borne out in his acutely observed accounts of births and deaths, weddings and elopements, political campaigns and conventions, races and cockfights, concerts and trials, balls and epidemics―all related with the private frankness of a person denied a public outlet for his opinions.
In a conversational voice, Johnson set down the whole of the Natchez scene for sixteen years. No other southern diary provides such a broad picture of numerous aspects of everyday life or provides such deep insight into the life of a free person of color. It is among the most remarkable documents of antebellum America.
Description
Includes bibliographical references and index.