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During the 17 th and 18 th centuries, countless numbers of immigrants, mostly from Europe, sold themselves into bondage in exchange for passage to America. When in America they were called indentured servants, and would work for the person who brought them over for a predetermined amount of time, in order to pay for their passage. The amount of time a servant was bound for was stated in the contract that they all had to sign, and was usually from four to seven years, depending on the age, sex, and skill of the servant. It has been estimated that nearly half of the white settlers in colonial America arrived there as indentured servants (Frazier, p. 26). In the southern plantations, where most families had at least two servants performing manual labor, indentured servants actually outnumbered the black slaves. Indentured servants played a huge role in allowing many of the American colonies to prosper and grow (Brenner, p. 47).
Indentured servitude allowed for both the farmers in America, and the immigrants that sold themselves to the farmers, to benefit in their own ways. Treatment of servants in America varied depending upon the landlord. Those who were unfortunate enough to have a cruel landlord were often treated as if they were slaves, and had to endure many hardships during the time they were obligated to serve. Those who were lucky enough to have a fair and just landlord had a much easier time. While in servitude they would be able to learn farming skills and, if allowed to, apprentice under the landlord at their other businesses, such as law, printing, or medicine.
When their time was up they would have the chance to start their own businesses or someday their own farms. However, even if an indentured servant did have a cruel landlord they would eventually be free and would have the chance to lead a successful life, while slaves, on the other hand, had no futures beyond being servants (Warner, p. 64). Many peoples motivation to immigrate to America was to escape religious persecution. In many countries if you werent the religion of preference you would be singled out as a heretic and be excluded from holding positions of prominence, wealth, or power.
America offered many a fresh chance to live a new life where they would be able to succeed despite their ideologies (for the most part). People also immigrated to be able to rise from the social class that they were in. In many countries the class systems were very rigid. If you were born poor, chances were that you would die poor. To those poor people the chance to make a good life for themselves far overshadowed any negative aspects about indentured servitude. These people didnt really have any idea of what type of a life they would be living when they arrived in America.
Each indentured servant, before leaving for America, had to sign a contract stipulating what things they would be obligated to do and what they would receive for their services while they were there. Heres a typical contract This indenture, made the 21 st of February, 1682, between Richard Browne, aged 33 years of the one party, and Francis Richardson of the other party, witnesses that the said Richard Browne does thereby promise the said Francis Richardson, and those properly assigned by him, from this day until his first and next arrival in New York or New Jersey and after, for and during the term of four years, to serve in the service and employment, as he, the said Francis Richardson, or those assigned, shall employ him according to the customs of the country. In consideration of this, the said Francis Richardson does hereby promise the said Richard Browne to pay for his passage and to find and allow him meat, drink, clothing, and lodging, with other necessities, during the said term, and at the end of the said term to pay him according to the customs of the country. This contract painted a pretty, if not ambiguous, picture for the soon to be servant.
The contract named some responsibilities of the landlord, but mentioned none of the servants, except for him being bound to serve for four years. Other than that it didnt say how the landlord was to treat the servant, what conditions the servant was to live in, and what rights the servant would have while in Richard Browne's blind optimism, as well as many others, left them shell-shocked when they arrived in the states. The actual experience of servitude was much different from what it sounded like on paper. Though I do believe that indentured servitude was a positive thing in America, Im not going to ignore the fact that there were many servants who had bad experiences while in bondage.
Many were taken against their will, ripped from their homes, and forced into servitude, i. e. ; Mr. Joshua Brown wrote: My mother was born in Scotland. When twelve to fourteen years of age, she was, with many others, forcibly taken, carried on board a ship, and brought to Pennsylvania. She was there sold as a servant to Caleb Pusey, and served her time out. When free she married my father and settled down.
Servants were double-crossed over the contracts they signed, and were forced to stay for longer terms then they had originally agreed upon, while others were whipped and beaten, being treated as badly as slaves were. Heres an excerpt from a letter written by Elizabeth Sprigs, an indentured servant writing to her... O Dear Father, believe what I am going to relate... I am sure you will pity your distressed daughter... I, one of the unhappy number, am toiling almost day and night... and then tied up and whipped to that degree that you would not serve an animal.
Theres scarce anything to eat... if you have any compassion... show it by sending me some relief. Many others were in the same position that Elizabeth was, expecting to have very comfortable lives when in America and, like her, when they realized what the reality was, were regretful about their decision to sell themselves into servitude. For these people, the only thing that kept them from breaking was the hope after their time as a servant was over that they would be able to start a new life for themselves and their families. They saw how it was the only option available to As I mentioned earlier, many people immigrated in order to escape the things that bound them in their native countries.
They came to see that all the hardships they had to endure during their stints as servants were a small price to pay for the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and their families. An instance where a servant had a positive experience can be represented by another letter, written by a Mr. Richard Turkey: I take this opportunity of writing you to let you know I am in Maryland... I am in good place (employment)...
I live as well as any one can in the world... I am married since I came here... I make good money... and have saved 200 pounds since Ive been here...
I have married a sweet gal... I shall bring her to This is demonstrative of how a servant was able to benefit from the actual experience of servitude and not just of being in America. Richard was able to live a good life while working for his landlord. He was treated as if he were a paid employee, and didnt have to wait until his time under the landlord was up to start a life.
Other indentured servants were able to become successes, as well as important figures in colonial America. Such an example of these people is the The rise of the Dulany family is similar to the development of many American families during the colonial period and after. Daniel Dulany, the Protestant immigrant, was a youth from Queens County Ireland and arrived in Maryland in 1703 with his two brothers. All three came over as indentured servants.
Daniel, who had spent some time at the University of Dublin, had the good fortune to be sold to Colonel George Platter, who needed a clerk in his law office. As so often happened, the law proved to be an avenue of advancement, and young Dulany in less than ten years was a practicing lawyer and a landowner. He had married well to Rebecca Smith, daughter of the well to do Colonel Walter Smith. Dulany, like many Americans after him, grew wealthy, not only from his activities as a lawyer and a farmer, but also from shrewd investments in land. He became one of the most prominent land speculators during the late 18 th century. Dulany's son Daniel, his worthy successor, as well as his other children, made up a dynasty of social significance in the American colonies.
The Dulany's, along with many other families who first came over as indentured servants, played important roles in building and strengthening the young United States. In fact, from the very beginning, indentured servants have been playing an important role, even at Jamestown. On the Mayflower, one dozen of the ships passengers were indentured servants. Also many people might not know that Benjamin Franklin came to America indentured to his brother.
He was twelve years old when he began to apprentice to learn the printers trade. His contract stated that his time would be up when he was twenty one years old, after nearly a decade of servitude. He would later become a very influential politician, as well as President of the United States and would end up playing an important role in freeing the United States from Britain (van der Zee, p. 60). In the end, weather or not you were successful in America depended on your will, and your determination to succeed. If you wanted success enough it was certainly available The point of my report is not to say that indentured servitude was perfect, because it wasnt. What Im trying to say is that indentured servitude allowed for opportunity in places where there was none.
It helped to advance many immigrants, as well as the United States as a whole, beyond what they would have been able to do in their previous positions. It opened doors that wouldnt normally have been open to them and allowed more diverse influences to effect how the country was run, in turn creating a more tolerant and accessible society Bibliography:
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