Slave Labor Essay

Slave Labor
In present day America the idea of slavery would not be tolerated, however in the first colonies and many years following slavery was common and accepted. America is not the first nor the only country with a history of slavery. Slavery is still a hot topic today in various forms. As the colonies developed land ownership opportunities became available, however this only increased the need for labor. Thus began indentured servitude, creating opportunity for both the master and servant. The servant paid for their cost of travel with service labor for a contracted amount of time. After the contract had been fulfilled the servant was then free. As a free man they gained the legal right to their own land. With more land owners and a lack of labor, the situation only became more bleak. With the need for more labor that void was soon filled with the growth of slavery. The servant was purchased for a sum of money without a contract attached to the purchase. This allowed for the masters to keep the servants as long as they wished. Slavery can be an entire lifetime with no end date while servitude had an expiration date. Also children born into slavery were also slaves so it became generational. More land owners were …show more content…
Since there were no slaves in the colonies traders has to travel across seas to find and purchase them. During transport slaves were packed tightly into the ships leaving very little room for movement for as long as three to four months. There were many deaths during transit due to illness or diseases without medical attention, others died during riots against their captures or suicides. The life of the slaves only meant something to the slave’s owners because of the amount of money they paid for a slave outside of that they were literally property that could be replaced if