LIFE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA 1807 1861
SLAVERY IN AMERICA COTTON SLAVE TRADE AND THE SOUTHERN RESPONSE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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To pay off debts
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To have their voyage to America paid for
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To serve time for their crimes
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All of the above
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Detailed explanation-1: -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 of a need for cheap labor. The earliest settlers soon realized that they had lots of land to care for, but no one to care for it.
Detailed explanation-2: -Some people indentured themselves in order to gain passage to America or to escape debt and poverty. Others, including convicts, were sold into indenture upon arrival. Indentures are a type of contract that was torn in two, so each party could have a portion.
Detailed explanation-3: -Many white immigrants arrived in colonial America as indentured servants, usually as young men and women from Britain or Germany, under the age of 21. Typically, the father of a teenager would sign the legal papers, and work out an arrangement with a ship captain, who would not charge the father any money.