“Our earnings would amount to $11,680. Add to this the interest for the time our wages been kept back and deduct what you paid for our clothing and three doctor’s visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are entitled to. “

After the Civil War had ended, the idea of paying for what used to be free labor was too absurd for former Confederates to accept. But, for these ex-masters, who have grown accustomed to having others work for them, work seemed like an impossible task. So, masters like Colonel P.H Anderson would attempt to coerce their former slaves with promises that they would be treated better than how they were treated in the past. But, how much of their old master’s words are true? Probably none.

The Blacks were humans and not “property”, so they do not deserve the same treatment that they received in the past. For Jourdon Anderson, his ex-master pointed a gun at him and if it weren’t for the neighbor, Jourdon would not have been able to write this reply. So, it is hard imagining someone like Colonel P.H Anderson to be able to offer a better life to someone who he almost killed. Naturally Jourdon Anderson suspects this offer and decides that he will not answer until Colonel P.H Anderson shows that he is sincere by paying off the debt that he owes Jourdon and his wife. So, if the former Confederates are truly sorry for what they have done in the past, then such steps are necessary as an apology.