Discussion Questions
Slavery, Indenture, and Freedom in New York
- What was the difference between an African descended person being "slave" and an "indentured servant?"
- Why do you think some people valued constitutional property rights enough to argue for gradual abolition, instead of immediate abolition?
- How do you think the men who founded the New York Manumission Society rationalized continuing to enslave people in their own personal lives?
White Women's Lives in Colonial New York
- How were White women's legal rights different from those of White men?
- Why do you think a woman like Catharine Bleecker would write this contract? Why would she include a clause about manumission?
- How did widowhood change a White woman's legal right, and what do you think that says about that society's ideas about women?
Jewish Lives in Colonial New York
- In what ways were Jewish immigrants to New York treated differently than other, Christian European immigrants?
- Why do you think someone like Moses Judah, who joined and served in the New York Manumission Society, would sign a contract like this?
- What rights did Moses Judah has as a "free man" that other Jewish immigrants who were not granted that status lacked?
Black Lives in Colonial New York
- How is this contract different from those signed by Catharine Bleecker and Moses Judah?
- Why do you think this contract requires that Cynthia Haycorn be taught to read and write, and given a new Bible?
- What were some dangers for free Black people living in New York?
- Why do you think the New York Manumission Society founded the African Free School?
- What are some of the spaces in New York's Black community at this time?