Democracy in Early America: Servitude and the Treatment of Native Americans and Africans
From: Gilder Lehrman
Grade Level: HS, College
Remote Ready: With Modifications
Time: At least 3 class periods if you assign readings as Homework. More if you don't.
Length of Reading: Chapters
3 Day Activity. Students are divided into 5 groups. Each group is assigned one of the following topics: Indentured Servants, Native Americans, African Americans, Religion, or Early Signs of Democracy. Students read a number of lengthy, predetermined primary and secondary sources on their topics (mostly secondary sources). Each group discuss a the most important facts in their readings in order to create a museum exhibit on their subject. Each group presents to classmates. Finally, each students writes an essay or op-ed answering the 2 overarching questions.
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On the first day, each group gets a hefty list of secondary source readings unique to their topic. There are a couple of issues here, but we still recommend this lesson. First, while most of these are web-based readings, in a couple of cases, sections of books, textbooks, or textbook-affiliated readers are recommended. Teachers may find a couple of those books at the library, buy them, or choose to eliminate the sources as there are plenty of others. Also, a few of the links are broken; you may be able to track these down on the internet or eliminate them (again there are many other sources). Teachers may also elect to assign readings as homework to save class time. After reading the, each group discusses their 20 most important key points that answer the 2 key questions.
On the second day, students create a museum exhibit based on stated specifications.
On the third day, students visit each other's museum exhibits. Each group gives a 5-minute presentation. And audience members write down answers for the 2 overarching questions. Finally, students write an essay or editorial in answer to the 2 overarching questions.
More Information:
Grade Level:
HS, College: This lesson is meant for high school and college students
This Activity Involves:
Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources.
Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion.
Writing Exercise: This activity requires a writing assignment such as a discussion post, journal entry, or lengthy response to a prompt. Almost all of our activities require students to answer questions with short responses, but this icon refers to a slightly longer writing assignments.
"The indenture of Henry Mayer to Abraham Hestant of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on 29 September 1738. The document states that Hestant paid for Mayer's passage from Rotterdam with "Six Pistoles" [sic]. The text also includes the following: "Henry Mayer ... by these Presents doth bind ... him self Servant to the said Abraham Hestant .... [or] his Executors and Assigns, from ... the Date hereof, for ... the full Term of Three Years... During all which Term, the said Servant ... faithfully shall serve ... honestly, and obediently in all Things, as a good and dutiful Servant ought to do. AND the said Abraham Hestant [or] his Executors and Assigns, during the said Term, shall find and provide for the said Henry Mayer sufficient Meat, Drink, Apparrell [sic], Washing and Lodging, and at he Expiration of the said term ... Henry Mayer [is] to be Made free and [to] Recieve [sic] from the said Abraham Hestant two suits of Apparrell [sic] one whereof to be new..." Wikimedia Commons, 19 August 2025, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Indenturecertificate.jpg.
