Roots Lesson Plan

How was the situation of white indentured servants similar to and different from that of black slaves, and why did the white servants act negatively toward the black slaves?

White indentured servants were allowed to work off their debt and become free after a set time period. They were often servants because they had incurred debts or broken a law, unlike the African slaves and their descendants, who had been taken from their homeland involuntarily. White servants refused to make common cause with the Africans, and often did the master's bidding. It was a white servant who cut off Kunta's foot for trying to escape. Students should be encouraged to discuss how even white...