Slavery, Indenture, and Freedom in New York

1.  What was the difference between an African descended person being "slave" and an "indentured servant?"
2.  Why do you think some people valued constitutional property rights enough to argue for gradual abolition, instead of immediate abolition?  
3. 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

1. How were White women's legal rights different from those of White men?
2. Why do you think a woman like Catharine Bleecker would write this contract? Why would she include a clause about manumission? 
3. 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

1. In what ways were Jewish immigrants to New York treated differently than other, Christian European immigrants?
2. Why do you think someone like Moses Judah, who joined and served in the New York Manumission Society, would sign a contract like this?
3. 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

1. How is this contract different from those signed by Catharine Bleecker and Moses Judah?
2. Why do you think this contract requires that Cynthia Haycorn be taught to read and write, and given a new Bible?
3. What were some dangers for free Black people living in New York?
4. Why do you think the New York Manumission Society founded the African Free School?
5. What are some of the spaces in New York's Black community at this time?