The controversy at the top of the Virginia government over yearbook photos continues with no universally accepted resolution in sight. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has said he wasn\u2019t going anywhere, despite calls for him to resign. In an interview with Gayle King of CBS This Morning, Northam said that 400 years have passed since the \u201cfirst indentured servants from Africa landed on our shores.\u201d Ms. King said, \u201cAlso known as slavery.\u201d His response was \u201cyeah.\u201d
\nAfter the interview, Mr. Northam said that during a recent speech he referred to the indentured servants as enslaved. He said, \u201cA historian advised me that the use of indentured was more historically accurate. The fact is, I\u2019m still learning and committed to getting it right.\u201d
\nI realized that I wasn\u2019t sure either, so my extensive research kicked in\u2026 this is what I found.<\/p>\n
Indentured servants first arrived in America in the decade following the settlement of Jamestown by the Virginia Company in 1607. The idea of indentured servitude was born because of a need for cheap labor. The earliest settlers realized that they had lots of land to care for, but no one to care for it.
\nThe Thirty Year\u2019s War had left Europe\u2019s economy depressed, and many skilled and unskilled laborers were without work. The Virginia Company developed the system of indentured servitude to attract those workers. A new life in the New World offered a glimmer of hope; between one-half and two-thirds of the immigrants who came to the American colonies arrived as indentured servants.<\/p>\n
Servants typically worked four to seven years in exchange for passage, boarding, and lodging. While the life of an indentured servant was harsh and restrictive, it wasn\u2019t slavery. According to many historians, for those that survived the work and received their freedom package, they were better off than the new immigrants who came freely to the country. Their contract may have included at least 25 acres of land, a year\u2019s worth of corn, arms, a cow and new clothes.<\/p>\n
It was not until 1619 the first black Africans came to Virginia. Initially, they were treated as indentured servants and given the same opportunities for freedom as whites. However slave laws were soon passed and any small freedoms that might have existed for blacks were taken away. As demand for labor in the colonies grew, so did the cost of indentured servants. Many landowners also felt threatened by newly freed servants demand for land. Landowners soon turned to African slaves as a more profitable and ever-renewable source of labor and the shift from indentured servants to racial slavery began.<\/p>\n
So \u2014 Indentured servants agreed to work for 4 – 7 years in exchange for transportation to the colonies. Slaves were brought to America against their will. There were slaves and indentured servants in all 13 colonies. Both worked at the same types of jobs \u2014 most worked without pay. Life was difficult for both \u2014 hours were long and hard. Indentured servants were eventually freed \u2014 most slaves were not.<\/p>\n
I realize this is a much oversimplified description, but there are obvious differences. I think Governor Northam was right \u2014he\u2019s got a lot to learn. We all do\u2026..
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n
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The controversy at the top of the Virginia government over yearbook photos continues with no universally accepted resolution in sight. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has said he wasn\u2019t going anywhere, despite calls for him to resign. In an interview with … Continue reading