Cost of expansion
The idea behind these discussions is that it will serve as conversation. We all, having read and considered the same material, are expected to express our reasoned opinions, based in that reading, of the question at hand. In other words, simple Yes or No answers will not suffice. Yes and/or no does not advance discussion, of course. Instead, such responses tend to stifle it. Also, unsubstantiated opinion has no place in the study of history. While it may be true that everyone has a right to an opinion, none have a right to express it. Especially if it is not based in reality. And here, reality is based in verifiable sources such as the assigned readings and course materials, and anything else you might wish to bring in, and can properly cite and reference.
With that in mind, dig deeply into the material. At times I may ask how this stuff relates to our own time and that will require some independent thought, reasoning and, perhaps, some extra research. A good conversation might take us to a lot of times and places in fact, but work to focus on the time and place at hand as much as possible.
note that you are asked to explain, not simply describe. Description tells what happened, what was, it centers on nouns. Explanation asks for much more. It asks why things happened, why they took the shape they did, how they impacted people’s lives. It demands a lot more than simple description. So dig deep. And, in your responses to classmates, please don’t revert to simple posts. Complimenting someone on their work is a nice gesture, but each post–your original one and the two responses to classmates–requires new material, new ideas, so as to further advance the discussion.
Reply to each student according to the instructions above (1 paragraph should be sufficient) use 1 scholarly source for each response.
***Scholarly source – per APA Guidelines, only scholarly sources should be used in assignments. These include peer-reviewed publications, government reports, or sources written by a professional or scholar in the field. Wikipedia, Wikis, .com websites or blogs should not be used as anyone can add information to these sites. For the discussions, reputable internet sources such as websites by government agencies (.gov) and respected organizations (.org) can be counted as scholarly sources. Outside sources do not include assigned required readings.
(student 1)
Slaves and indentured servants are similar in that they and their children were personal property that could be bought, sold and inherited (Law Library of Congress 2018). The way that they got to the colonies was very different.
Indentured servants were the primary work force before the 1680’s. The system seemed to benefit both parties. The planters paid the fair for the servant’s trip to the colonies. In return, for each laborer they brought over, the planter received 50 acres of land and the service of the worker for the amount of time he was contracted for; usually five years. This was an economical way for plantation owners to increase the amount of land they owned. In return the indentured servant would receive room and board while working in the fields. At the end of their contract, they would receive freedom dues; this could be land, money, clothes, food or a gun (U.S. History 2018). Sounds like a good deal right? Since many early immigrants came to the colonies this way (Law Library of Congress 2018), they must have thought it was a good deal but in reality only about 40% of the servants lived to complete their contract and if they did, the the land available to them was in areas that were not easily able to be farmed and had a greater threat from the Indians (U.S. History Indentured Servants 2018).
The first Africans that came to the colonies in 1619 arrived on a Dutch trade ship. They were not slaves but were not free either. They were sold as indentured servants and some eventually became free, but gradually slavery replaced indentured servants as the main source of labor (U.S. History The Growth of Slavery 2018).
The reasons for slavery replacing indentured servants are complex. As the demand for agricultural labor grew, the market for slaves grew which caused an increase in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Virginia enacted laws that prevented slaves from achieving freedom. Those laws combined with the reaction to Bacons Rebellion, which was an uprising of former slaves and indentured servants, and lower prices of slaves, led to slavery becoming the main labor force by 1700 in the upper south. (Keene, J., Cornell, S., O’Donnell, E., 2013.
(student 2)
Indentured servants are individuals who contracted to be servants for a specified number of years, usually four to seven years. Provided an important source of labor and was thought to decrease the poverty of England. Employers paid for the voyage to the new colony in exchange for years of labor. The indentured servants were clothed and fed by the contractor until the end of their contract. At the end of their term of service contractors would give their indentured servants clothes and tools to survive in this new world. Indentured servants went on their terms and unlike slavery they were not imprisoned. Although most never got to experience their promise of freedom, others were denied the right to promised land due to it being bought by other wealthy colonials.
“The abolition of slavery in the French colonies brought about a sharp decline in sugar production as most of the former enforced workers deserted the plantations, a decline which had been predicted, in catastrophic terms, by planters such as the Guadeloupian judge Theodore Dreveton, writing in 1845”(Marsh. 2012). Slaves were brought to America against their will. Many different types of people were forced into slavery. Slaves were not promised any type of freedom or trade, they had no term agreements. Slaves were owned mostly by plantation owners harvesting crops for profit and most of the time being abused by their owners.
The similarities between the two are that each person is tied to a master, freedom restricted, and it is a labor source. Although both have gruel outcomes, some thought them necessary for forming the new world colonies. If there hadn’t been any Indentured servants or slaves our world might look a lot different today.
