Jamestown Virtual Colony

Empathy: The Plight of the Indentured Servants

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The Set:

Objective:

This lesson will create in the student an appreciation of the hardships endured by indentured servants going to the New World. The following objectives will develop this appreciation while at the same time teaching some elements of contracts and contract law:

  1. The student will describe the process used to place oneself in indentured servitude through class discussion.
  2. The student will examine historical documents, indenture contracts, for design and content.
  3. The student will design and complete a "contract" for indentured servitude.
  4. The student will compare and contrast 17th century contracts with 20th century contracts through class discussion.

Relevance:

Clear social distinctions existed between masters and indentured servants. This lesson is an exercise in developing empathy for the latter social class. Prior lessons focused upon the necessity of labor to establish a permanent colony at Jamestown and upon the rights and freedoms of each social class. This lesson will help the student understand the nature of the relationship between the master and the indentured servant. The student will also demonstrate knowledge of the elements of a contract as they utilize their knowledge of the indenture process to create an indenture contract.

Involvement of the Learner:

Our society has many forms of employment. Writers, laborers, lawyers, computer programmers and service technicians all have different types of work, but they share at least one common trait. No matter what their employment, they are contracted to their employers as equals. If someone does not like the job they have, in most cases, they can walk away from that job and seek employment elsewhere. In labor relations, this is a relatively new concept in the span of the last 400 years. It was made possible by the industrial revolution that changed the nature of labor forever. Listen to the following two statements. In 1853, Henry Williams stated,

"In a free government like ours, employment is simply a contract between parties having equal rights. the operative agrees to perform a certain amount of work in consideration of receiving a certain amount of money...The employed is under no great obligation to the employer than the employer is to the employed; and the one has no more right to dictate [outside of work] than the other. In the eye of the law, they are both freemen -- citizens having equal rights, and brethren having one common destiny."

Compare this statement with a passage in Bacon's Abridgment, printed in England in the 1730's.

"The relationship between a master and a servant, from the superiority and power which it creates on the one hand, and duty, subjection, as it were, allegiance, on the other, is in many instances applicable to other relationships, which are both in a superior and a subordinate degree; such as lord and bailiff... and all other, having authority too enforce obedience to their orders, from those who duty it is to obey"

It has been said that the best way to appreciate one's rights and liberties is to have them taken away. This lesson will allow you to imagine yourself in the role of an individual about to enter indentured servitude.

The Lesson:

Purpose: This is a two part lesson. First the teacher shall lecture on the basic elements of a contract. During class discussion, the students should be able to relate these elements to contracts they themselves have encountered in their own lives. These may include sales contracts, purchase contracts, or employment contracts such as those for professional athletes.

The following is some factual information on this subject for the teacher's lecture:

  1. legally competent parties: the parties to a contract must be legally competent (have legal capacity to enter into the contract). This generally means that they have sufficient mental capacity and are of legal age.
  2. offer and acceptance: an offer must be made by one party and accepted by another party. Offer and acceptance is also called a "meeting of minds", meaning the parties agree on the terms. Agreement by the parties is also called mutual assent. The parties must have full and accurate knowledge of the terms and conditions of the contract, otherwise the contract will be void.
  3. reality of consent: assent by the parties to a contact must be freely given. Duress is the use of force or the threat of force to obtain an agreement. The consenting party must not be coerced or pressured into the contract. Duress includes both physical and mental stress.
  4. consideration: there must be an agreement between the parties as to what they will give each other. Consideration can be anything of value, including money, property, personal services, a promise to act, giving up a right to act, or even love and affection.
  5. legality of object: the purpose of the contract must not be illegal or against public policy. It would be contradictory for the courts to enforce contracts that will break the law.

All of these concepts apply to contracts today. They find their roots in English Common Law and tort (Civil) law cases. For this reason, you will see all of these elements in the indentured servitude contracts from the 16th, 17th and 18th century. You will also see the same elements today in a professional sports contract or in a real estate contract.

Second, students will analyze original contracts for indenture. These are readily available documents from archives in England and the state of archives of former English Colonies. In the resources section, two links have been provided to view indenture contracts via the Internet. One bibliographic source has also been provided. It contains several contracts and a list of some early immigrants to the Americas from England.

The instructor should work with the students to find and notate the elements of a contract in these documents. This can be done in either a group discussion format or a group learning format. The purpose of this exercise is to get the students thinking not only about the elements of a contract, but also about the people who entered into these contracts.

Some critical thinking questions:

  1. "What was the educational level of the individuals who pledged themselves as indentured servants?"
  2. "Were they literate? How can you tell?" (X mark for signature in most cases)
  3. "How was the legality of these contacts guaranteed?" (Witnessed by magistrates or judges)
  4. "What consideration did the indentured individual hope to get out of their contracts? What were their guarantees that they would receive this consideration?"

Activity/Practice:

legally competent parties: Have the student create a 17th century identity for themselves, listing their name and their trade or skills. The student should also decide for whom they wish to work and create this individual. The student may also write a physical description and characterization of all parties to the contract as a separate part of this exercise.

offer and acceptance: Are there any hidden conditions in the contract? Are the terms clear?

reality of consent: How will the freely given consent be guaranteed?

consideration: What is the consideration, in terms of years, to be given to their master for their transport to the New World? What do they expect from their master for this service?

legality of object: Are the terms of their contract legal for the 17th century? The student should write two clauses for this section. The first should be one that the student believes would have been legal in the 17th century. The second should be one that they think would be legal today.

This contract may be as long as the student wishes, but should not be less than one page of writing paper. There are no specific answers in most cases to the categories above. What the student is creating is a contract that would be created between two individuals without consideration of the extensive tort law surrounding modern day contracts.

Closure:

  1. "What changes can you see in the general nature of contracts from the 17th century to the 20th century?"
  2. "What are the major similarities?"
  3. "How real was the consent given by those entering indentured servitude? Do you believe the person indenturing themselves was exercising a free choice or do you think that they were forced by their circumstances?"

Resources:

Internet links:

Indenture Contract - Middlesex County, MD (1683)

Address for the above link: http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/2221/19/13/images/d011675a.gif

If the above link fails, try: Back Up Link

Or this address:http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/2221/19/13/html/

Sales contract between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for indentured servant, 1809

Address for the above link:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(mcc/060))

Bibliography:

indentured servitude contracts:

  1. Nicholson, Cregoe D.P., F.S.A.. Some Early Emigrants to America. Reprinted from the Genealogists' Magazine, Vol. 12-Nos. 1 to 16 and Vol. 13-Nos. 1 to 8. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1965.

resources for contract law:

  1. Conway, Paul R.. Outline of the Law of Contracts. New York, N.Y.: Harmon Publications, 1939.
  2. Gulick, George S. and Kimbrough, Robert T., Eds. American Jurisprudence, 2nd Edition: A Modern Comprehensive Text Statement of American Law, State and Federal, Vol. 17. Rochester, NY: The Lawyers CO-Operative Publishing Company, 1964.

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