John Ruston Pagan’s book, Anne Orthwood’s Bastard, is split into sections describing the different components of sex and law in early Virginia. Pagan describes these components through the story of Anne Orthwood, John Kendall, and their bastard son, Jasper. Anne Orthwood was born an illegitimate child. There was much shame and disgrace for illegitimate children. Although illegitimacy made Anne’s life especially hard, she also faced the same pressures as other members of her generation. Her generation was dealing with shortages of land and labor; increasing prices, rent, and unemployment rates; and declining wages. These struggles caused many people to emigrate from Britain to the Americas. Anne, like many others who emigrated from Bristol, …show more content…
In the Waters v. Bishopp case, Waters requested Bishopp to take Anne back and to return his payment. Waters had an advantage over Bishopp as he had helped John Stringer, the presiding justice, when his wife was conned in the past. The court decided against Bishopp, and suggested he pay Waters back and free him of any debt. Anne delivered twins, only one of which survived, Jasper. Anne died shortly after. Her midwife, Eleanor Gething, witnessed Anne name John Kendall as the father while she was in labor. John Kendall constructed a petition seeking exoneration for Anne’s paternity charges. He was found guilty on the legal question, but morally innocent. In such cases, only the mother’s side of the story was considered. John was later prosecuted for fornication by John Stockley as a part of the general crackdown on misbehavior. The last case was Orthwood v. Warren. Jasper sued Warren, his master, for freedom as the Poor Law of 1601 stating that males bastards were bound until the age of 24, conflicted the 1672 Virginia Act, which lowered that age of emancipation to 21. He was successful and was granted freedom, as the court said the 1672 Virginia statue took precedence over the 1601 Act to servants indentured before its …show more content…
I was able to better understand how easy it was for English laws to change on a case-by-case basis and see how Virginia changed so many of the English laws not long after the first settlers arrived. Also, reading this book helped me understand the reasons behind the changes. Life in Virginia differed than life in England, giving them a need for different laws in certain situations. Not everything in Virginia could be the same as it was in England. Another thing this book helped me to see was how different things were then, than they are now. Laws have changed so much and we have an organized system of keeping the laws. Also, it seems as if a lot of the laws and court cases back then were corresponding to labor and economy. Lastly, each section helped me understand how men and women were treated differently. Initially, men and women were punished just as much for having sex out of wedlock, but later in the book, women were held responsible and men got away with
In Anne Orthwood’s Bastard: Sex and Law in Early Virginia, John Pagan sets out to examine the complexities of the legal system on the Eastern Shore in the seventeenth- century. He brings to light the growing differences between the English and Virginia legal systems. Pagan, an early American legal historian at the University of Richmond School of Law, spins a tragic story on the legalities surrounding an instance of out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Indentured servant Anne Orthwood’s brief encounter with a man of higher social standing produced a series of four court cases. Pagan examines each case and persons involved, vividly connecting each case to larger themes of social class, gender, labor, and economic power.
Melton McLaurin’s book Celia, A Slave is the account of the trial, conviction, and execution of a female slave for the murder of her “master” Robert Newsom in 1855. The author uses evidence compiled through studying documents from Callaway County, Missouri and the surrounding area during the middle of the Nineteenth Century. Although much of what can be determine about this event is merely speculation, McLaurin proposes arguments for the different motives that contribute to the way in which many of the events unfold. Now throughout the book the “main characters”, being Celia, her lawyer Jameson, and the judge William Hall, are all faced with moral decisions that affect the lives of two different people.
In this paper I will explain and discuss the historical events that took place in a small rural town in early Massachusetts. The setting for which is Irene Quenzler Brown's and Richard D. Brown's, The Hanging of Ephraim Wheeler. I will explain the actions and motives of Hannah and Betsy Wheeler in seeking legal retribution of husband and father Ephraim Wheeler. I will also discuss the large scope of patriarchal power allowed by the law and that given to husbands and masters of households. Of course, this will also lead to discussions of what was considered abuse of these powers by society and the motivation for upholding the Supreme Court's decision to hang Ephraim Wheeler.
As far as Julia Dickson, the information contained in Kent’s book presents the picture of a young girl and young woman who did not have the conventional life of a slave. Julia herself apparently explained that she worked making beds, sweeping, and tending to chores in the house and garden. She had other children after Amanda, a son by a slave and a daughter by a white man named “Doc Eubanks.”4 Julia was treated by the Dickson family doctor regularly for many years. David and Julia Dickson maintained an apparently intimate relationship. Slaves and whites both reported that the two had an intimate and affectionate
This novel was a very long and strenuous read. Solomon included many details about the process of planting and harvesting cotton or the appearance of a man from head to foot, for example. This painted an extremely accurate picture in the reader’s head, however it made the story boring and slow. There were also a lot of old-fashioned words that I had to look up before I understood sentences. Although the novel was slow and old-fashioned, I would recommend this book to students who wished to learn more about this time period because it certainly helps certain aspects easier to comprehend. Twelve Years a Slave gave me a different perspective to slavery, and a different way of viewing it.
Valerie Martin’s Novel Property is an engrossing story of the wife of a slave owner and a slave, whom a mistress of the slave owner, during the late 18th century in New Orleans. Martin guides you through both, Manon Guadet and her servant Sarah’s lives, as Ms. Gaudet unhappily lives married on a plantation and Sarah unhappily lives on the plantation. Ms. Gaudet’s misserableness is derived from the misfortune of being married to a man that she despises and does not love. Sarah, the slave, is solely unhappy due to the fact that she is a slave, and has unwillingly conceived to children by Ms. Gaudiest husband, which rightfully makes Sarah a mistress. Throughout the book, Martin captivates the reader and enables you to place yourself in the characters shoes and it is almost as you can relate to how the characters are feeling.
This scandalous case centers on a woman named Katherine Watkins. On Friday, August 18, 1681, Katherine accused a slave by the name of John Long, also known as Jack, of rape. There was some evidence of violence, but there were also outstanding questions about her character and conduct. Those who testified, however, painted a different picture about certain events preceding the crime. They were John Aust, William Harding, Mary Winter, Lambert Tye, Humphrey Smith, Jack White (Negro), Dirk (Negro), and Mingo (Negro). Whether these individuals were so inclined because Katherine Watkins was a Quaker, rather than an Anglican, we can never really know. That certainly fueled the fire, though. The day in question involved an afternoon of cider drinking. Several of the witnesses in the testimonies recounted Mrs. Watkins sexual advances to multiple of Thomas Cocke 's slaves, particularly, a mulatto named Jack. John Aust pleaded that Katherine, at one point, had lifted the shirt of one slave and announced “Dirke thou wilt have a good long thing” (Sex and Relations, 53). She allegedly had thrown another on the bed, kissed him, and, “put her hand into his codpiece” (Sex and Relations, 53). The most interesting piece of evidence that Aust brings forward is that Jack was actually avoiding Watkins at the party, an apparent attempt at avoiding any intimate entanglement with her (Sex and Relations, 52). Finally, he reported that Watkins and Jack had gone into a side room (Sex and Relations, 53). Later in the trial, Humphrey Smith seemingly referred to Aust 's testimony. His deposition suggested that he and Aust had some reservations about Jack 's guilt (Sex and Relations 54). Clearly, the character of the plaintiff was considered important evidence in the trial of a slave for rape. The reasonable extenuating circumstances of the case might have granted the magistrates leave way
Heavily influenced by a patriarchal order in society, women’s power and status depended upon a husband’s standing, giving way to the exclusion of females from political, economic, and even familial matters. Brown cites the numerous laws passed to regulate marriage and women’s sexuality in the late seventeenth century as example to illustrate the seriousness of limiting female power. However, in two instances Brown provides situations in which women, English and African- American had power even if it was small and
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
Sandy Wilson, the author of Daddy’s Apprentice: incest, corruption, and betrayal: a survivor’s story, was the victim of not only sexual abuse but physical and emotional abuse as well, in addition to being a product of incest. Sandy Wilson’s story began when she was about six years old when her birth father returns home from incarceration, and spans into her late teens. Her father returning home from prison was her first time meeting him, as she was wondered what he looked like after hearing that he would be released (Wilson, 2000, p. 8). Not only was her relationship with her father non-existent, her relationship with her birth mother was as well since she was for most of her young life, cared for by her grandmother and grandfather. When she was told that her birth mother coming to visit she says, “…I wish my mother wouldn’t visit. I never know what to call her so I don’t all her anything. Not her name, Kristen. Not mother. Not anything (Wilson, 2000, p. 4).” This quote essentially demonstrated the relationship between Sandy and her mother as one that is nonexistent even though Sandy recognizes Kristen as her birth mother.
Marriages between English and Indians were not uncommon. Although, Ramsey tells, “Such unions . . . produced long-term problems for all concerned” (Ramsey, 17). The differences between the different cultures would shine through in their unions. There were various expectations from each culture. For example, the children would have to be raised one way; Native American or English. If the children were going to be raised in a typical Native American way, then they would belong to the mother’s lineage. Also, the father would not be the main male in their lives, it would be the mother’s brother. On the other hand, if the children were going to be raised in a typical English way, then they would take on the father’s surname and the father would be the main male in their lives. One way that the traders would resolve this issue is “by simply removing their children from the mother’s influence and sending them to be raised in Charles Town” (Ramsey, 17). This quote can lead to a hypothesis that the mother would be upset by having her children taken away and raised in a different way they she wanted. In these marriages there were sometimes issues of violence. One account is of a trader named Alexander Nicholas. Alexander Nicholas “reportedly beat a woman that he kept mas his Wife so that she dyed and the child within her” (Ramsey, 15). There is also accounts of a man who
The issue of Slavery in the South was an unresolved issue in the United States during the seventeenth and eighteenth century. During these years, the south kept having slavery, even though most states had slavery abolished. Due to the fact that slaves were treated as inferior, they did not have the same rights and their chances of becoming an educated person were almost impossible. However, some information about slavery, from the slaves’ point of view, has been saved. In this essay, we are comparing two different books that show us what being a slave actually was. This will be seen with the help of two different characters: Linda Brent in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and Frederick Douglass in The Narrative of the life of Frederick
Throughout the Victorian era, women were expected to meet the standards set by communities and submit to the power of men. A woman’s duty was to be a partner to man, to comply with their authority and be physically submissive, even if mentally, they were unrestricted. Women who defied society’s normalities and refused to have restraints put upon them were often seen as recalcitrant and difficult by the public. In Charlotte Brontë's, Jane Eyre, Jane defies the expected role of a Victorian era woman, and shows that females do not have to comply to societal norms. This is shown through Jane's rebellion, denial of love, and rejection of St. John.
Orphans are often forced to mature faster than any other child. Often, they are exploited and used for their labor at a young age, ridding them of any potential childhood. Moreover, orphans lack a sense of belonging and have trouble relying on anybody other than themselves because the people they loved broke the only trust they knew, this leads to an isolation among them and a struggle with social development. Throughout the texts and films such as Anne of Green Gables, Orphan Train, Sidekicks, and The Outsiders we see specific examples of how orphans are expected to behave more maturely than children who grow up in a secure family setting.
Elizabeth Rolfe, a young woman in her twenties, had just finished her service as an indentured servant, a laborious seven years of slavery to an unknown family. Nonetheless, she has made it to Georgia, and now she has freedom and liberty. Her newfound buoyant attitude has attracted many suitors. Men outnumbered women in America, and therefore most women were guaranteed a marriage proposal by their mid twenties. She was no exception, and chose to marry someone who she judged to be a good and honest man who lives on a small farm on the rural area outside of Savannah.