Indentured Servitude: Why sell yourself into Bondage?

1. Indentured Servitude: Why sell yourself into Bondage? History Mysteries Activity #1

2. Objectives: • 1. Explain how the market for indentured servants functioned • 2. Analyze the costs and benefits to individuals who were considering signing contracts to become indentured servants

3. Background on Indentured Servants • Contracts: • Bound Indentured Servants to perform work for an employer in North America • Had the force of law, and they were enforced • Typically called for three-to-seven years of service. The average period of service was 4 years • Early in the colonial period, women were offered somewhat shorted contracts than men • Contracts for harder work, such as growing tobacco, were often for shorter terms than contracts for easier worth, such as performing household duties

4. Background on Indentured Servants • How the System Worked: • Ordinarily, a person would sign with a ship-owner or a recruiting agent in England • As soon as the servant was delivered alive to an American port, the contract would be sold to a planter or merchant

5. Activity #1: • Read the contract for an indentured servant. • With your group, record your answers for discussion questions A and B

6. Why would Free People Sell Themselves into Bondage? • Many workers in Colonial North America were indentured servants. The work they performed was often difficult—clearing land, planting tobacco, performing household services. The contracts signed by indentured servants had the force of law. Terms of service could be increased, for example, if a worker violated the indenture by trying to run away. Servants could even be sold by their owners. • Why would people accept difficult jobs that they could not quit on their own terms? Why would they sell themselves into bondage?

7. Activity #2: • Read the “Why did They Come” and case study your group has been given • Indentify the costs and benefits for the person in your case study • Be prepared to share your findings with the class

8. Connecting to today: • Are there situations today in which you might considered signing a contract for your labor in exchange for future benefits? • Example: Would you agree to perform two years of community-service volunteer work in an inner-city school in return for a significant reduction in your 4 year college tuition? • -What costs would go along with your choice? • -What benefits might go along with your choice? • -What would your final choice be and why?

9. In Review: • Who were the indentured servants? • What were some of the benefits of signing such contracts? • What were the costs?

10. Activity Questions for Homework • Answer these questions in essay form. Include a Thesis, Support, and Conclusion. • 1) Many history books imply that indentured servitude differed little from slavery. Explain the degree of how these systems were different. • 2) The French, Spanish and Portuguese all preceded the English as important colonial powers in the Americas. But the United States was much more influenced by England than by the other European powers. Its primary language, laws, and system of governance were all shaped by England. How might indentured servitude play a role in this outcome?