On April 1865, marked the end of the Civil War and the end of slavery. Slaves never liked to be under the control of a white master, it was a time of hardship, and suffering for all African Americans. All slaves were constantly beat, threatened, and even killed. Colonel P. H. Anderson was Jourdon’s former master, he faced the necessity of paying his slaves as laborers after the termination of slavery. But instead, he sent Jourdon a letter asking him to return as a free worker on the plantation. Jourdon’s response to the letter reflected his attitude towards his master, his viewpoints of what he was owed, and his hopes regarding his family’s freedom. After the end of slavery Jourdon left his former plantation and moved to Ohio to start a new…show more content… Jourdon says “I am doing tolerably well here. I get twenty-five dollars a month, with victuals and clothing; have a comfortable home for Mandy, and the children go to school and are learning well.” He mentions this to his former master so he could know how good they’ve been doing in Ohio. Jourdon wants the master to write back listing the wages he would be paying him and if it would be beneficial for him and his family to move back. All Jourdon wants is for him and his family to be financially stable and live a happy life. His wife Mandy isn’t so sure about the proposition the master has brought upon them. He tells the master that Mandy said that she would be afraid to go back without some assurance that the master was willing to treat them fairly and generously. Therefore, Jourdon wants to test his former master’s honesty by asking him to send them all the wages for the whole thirty-two years that he served him. He says “This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future.” Jourdon concluded that since he served his former master faithfully for thirty-two years that their earnings would be a vast of money. He is asking his former master for this amount of money, and tells him “If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the
