Ben Franklin
Chat with our AI personalities
Some famous indentured servants include Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Edward Winslow. These individuals served as indentured servants early in their lives before becoming prominent figures in American history.
Plantation owners preferred slaves over indentured servants because slaves were considered property, providing a long-term source of labor with no freedom or rights. Slaves could be inherited and their children born into slavery, ensuring a continuous workforce. In contrast, indentured servants had limited terms of service and some legal protections, making them less profitable and reliable for plantation owners.
People were willing to risk their lives as indentured servants because they were seeking a better future and were often promised land or money after completing their term of service. Many were seeking to escape poverty or persecution in their home countries and saw indentured servitude as a means to a new start in a different land. Additionally, some individuals may have been misled or coerced into accepting indentured servitude as a way to debt repayment or criminal punishment.
Indentured servants typically slept on simple bedding such as straw mattresses or blankets on the floor. They may have also slept in shared living quarters with others. The living conditions for indentured servants varied widely depending on the household or plantation they were working for.
Indentured servants displayed a fondness for freedom by seeking opportunities to escape their servitude, running away from their masters, or working towards fulfilling the terms of their contracts in order to gain their freedom. They also rebelled through strikes or other forms of resistance to assert their autonomy.
Plantation owners preferred slaves over indentured servants because slaves were seen as a long-term and inheritable source of labor, providing more stability and control over their workforce. Additionally, slaves did not have the legal protections and rights that indentured servants possessed, making them easier to exploit and control. Finally, the racial hierarchy and beliefs of the time perpetuated the notion that Africans and their descendants were inferior and thus suitable for enslavement.