Breen, T.H., and Stephen Innes. Myne Owne Ground: Race and Freedom on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, 1640-1676. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Title:

"Myne Owne Ground": Race and Freedom on Virginia's Eastern Shore, 1640-1676

Author:

T.H. Breen and Stephen Innes

Year of Publication:

1980

Thesis:

Using a Foucauldian lens, the authors seek to identify ways in which Black people were able to free themselves through manumission or purchase and acquire land, which was considered the measure of citizenship. This story is one of contingency, one that ended in the exclusion of Black people with citizenship rights within the span of a few decades.

Time:

1640-1676

Geography:

Northhampton, VA

Organization:

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Critiques:

The authors use Anthony Johnson as an example of success, but doesn't take his story to the end, where the court cases establish his children have no right to retain his property.

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