Summary: Indentured Servitude helped populate the colonies by allowing prospective emigrants to exchange their labor for Atlantic passage. It also provided the labor necessary to begin building the American economy. In this lesson, students use the context of colonial markets for indentured servants to demonstrate how prices emerge from the choices made by individual people; explain why so many European indentured servants risked the hardships of bound labor overseas; and compare and contrast the characteristics of free labor, indentured servitude, and chattel slavery.
Overarching Questions:
- CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact?
- CIVICS: How well does the government balance individual rights and the common good, including the need to maintain order, safety and a healthy environment, during this time period?
- ECONOMICS: What is the proper role of government in the economy? (Especially with regard to economic crises, national defense/security, health and safety of the people, and economic development and practices.)
NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:
- 6.1.12.EconGE.1.a: Explain how economic ideas and the practices of mercantilism and capitalism conflicted during this time period
Links to Resources: Indentured Servitude - A Colonial Market for Labor - Foundation For Teaching Economics (fte.org)