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For each topic, make
need 2 pages. The essay responses will be evaluated on the use of specific
detail and success in addressing the questions in their entirety.
Before you write the essay, you need reading the book CH1,4,5,9,14
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Complete One Volume
Edition, Third Seagull Edition (W.W. Norton and Company, 2016)
Every topic 2 pages. (Each with it OWN very short
introduction and a conclusion paragraph). Create short subheadings for the
essay. Do not label introduction and conclusion. Just a subtitle related
to the questions.
1. Discuss the origins and evolution of indentured
servitude and slavery in the English colonies through the 17th century. Be sure
to explain why these systems originated and their defining characteristics.
2. Explain how ideas about freedom and British imperial policies worked to bind
together colonists in British America and spark the American Revolution? How
did the Revolutionary era affect the government created in the early national
period?
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
History Discussion: Discuss
the Origins and Evolution of Indentured Servitude and Slavery in the English
Colonies
Topic
1
Under
the system of indentured servitude, young Europeans immigrated to the English Colonies.
These immigrants provided English farmers with paid labor after signing an
indenture or a contract to offer their services for a certain period. The
contract signed allowed employees to sell the labor of immigrants to a third
party. After completing the contract, indentured servants gained freedom.
Origins and evolution of indentured
servitude and slavery
The
first indentured servants arrived in the English colonies or the Thirteen
British colonies in 1607. By the 18th century, indentured servitude
and slavery were common in the English Colonies. Wear (436) affirms that
indentured servitude was an avenue through which young Europeans immigrated to
the American colonies. In 1619, Virginia territory received its first black
Africans. At first the black Africans enjoyed the privileges and rights of
indentured servants; however, the passage of slave laws abolished their rights.
The cost of indentured servants increased with the growing demand for labor. Newly
freed servants threatened many landowners as they demanded land hence this situation
highlighted the problems associated with indentured servitude. For that reason,
landowners abandoned indentured servitude for indentured slavery because
African slaves provided an ever-renewable and profitable source of labor.
Factors behind indentured servitude
Shopkeepers,
merchants, and landowners in the British colonies needed to acquire cheap
labor. By the 17th century, it was difficult to hire workers due to
the increased access to frontier land where this right of entry ensured that
potential workers could set up their farms. The only solution was to find a
source of cheap labor from other places, especially, from Europe. Poor young
Europeans emigrated from Britain to the English colonies where they could
provide their services for a period to services their debts used as travel
costs. Focusing on American History, Foner argues that indentured servants did
not receive cash payments because they received training, clothing,
accommodation, and food. The access to indentured servants ensured that
employers provided contracts that specified the years of service.
Characteristics of the systems of
indentured servitude
Despite the existence of slaves in the English colonies, the order of indentured servitude was a popular method among landowners. Indentured servitude benefitted both employers and servants. The "Headright System" was popular in Maryland and Virginia; it allowed each colony leader to appreciate the significance of labor in economic prosperity. This system ensured that the colony supported the importation of young Europeans as workers. According to Wear (437), the "Headright System" was used by wealthy farmers to acquire more land because the colony awarded them with 50 acres of land for each servant brought into the English colonies. For the given period of indenture, wealthy aristocrats enjoyed the services of the servants. Besides, this system served servants as well because their employers fully paid their travel costs. The signed indenture guaranteed that servants...
