Off the servants and Salves in Virginia

In this document, planter Robert Beverley wrote about the situations of slaves and
servants in Virginia at the beginning of eighteenth century. In Robert Beverlys
document, we can see the differences between servants and slaves in many ways.
First, servants would sign an indenture with their employer and the time they serve
depends on their indentures, usually the time was around five years. Compared to
servants, slaves were not that lucky because their serving time is lifelong. Second, the
worse thing was that their posterity were born in slaves and did not even have any
chance to become a freeman. Children of salves followed their mother to be slaves for
their whole life as well. Third, there were some laws used to protect servants life and
rights while slaves did not have any laws for protecting them at all. One of the points
that stood me out is that there were heavier taxes imposed on white female who
worked in the ground to encourage them to work indoors while there was no such law
for the slaves. I felt that there is such huge discrimination for slaves. In the society
back to that time, people believed that the position for a slave was in the ground.
Slaves no matter females or males were not educated but having strong body which
should be used for cultivating in the ground. White females servants who had chance
to get educated were encouraged to work indoors because they were able to master
more things than slaves. I felt bad about the situations slaves had back to those time.
The title of this document drew me to it because I just watched a movie called The
Help recently. The movie talks about the life of Negroes servants in Mississippi in
1960s. Those Negroes put their whole life to take care of children for the white but
they do not have rights and freedom. I wanted to know more about the servants life
from a primary document. What I would take away is that the cruel life slaves
experienced due to discrimination and lacking of laws used to protect their proper
rights.
Elizabeth Springs Letter to get Father
The document is a letter written by Elizabeth, an English female servant, to her father
where she complained her bitterness and poverty of being a servant in America. In
this letter, we saw that the life of being a servant in America in 18 th century was not as
hopeful as Elizabeth thought before she came to the new land. In the letter, she was
begging her father to send her clothes because she barely had clothes and shoes to
wear. What stood me out is the incredible harsh life of being a servant back to the
time. As a servant, Elizabeth was treated even worse than animals. She toiled day and
night and had nothing to eat except Indian corn and salt. The life of many Negroes are
even better. She only had a blanket to cover and slept on the ground. I knew that the
life of a servant was not that good but I thought at least better than that of slaves. The
description of being a servant in America Elizabeth gave in her letter really shocked
me. What drew me to this document is the title and some information from the
introduction paragraph. The tittle we unfortunate English people suffer here make
me feel that they must be not willingly rather be forced to come to America. However,
while I was reading, I found that there were many people finance their way to
America for a term of indentured servant. I felt that it was interesting and I wanted to
read more. I would take away that an indenture would only give the guarantee of time
of being hired but not a life a servant wanted.