2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hillary's historian refutes Sanders claim that this country is "created on racist principles". [View all]malthaussen
(17,195 posts)For one thing, indentures were for a term, the indentured servant always had knowledge that some day, he would be free. Also, most contracts of indenture provided for material assistance in setting up as a free man once the indenture was served, although these were naturally often honored more in the breach than otherwise. And indentured servants had more rights than slaves -- not so many as a free man, but a few -- so their condition was better in that respect as well.
OTOH, since one only owned an indentured servant for a term of years, he had less qualms about taking care of him and not working him to an early death, unlike a chattel slave who could provide many more years of labor. So in that respect, they may have been worse off than many chattel slaves.
-- Mal