Indentured ServantsEssay Preview: Indentured ServantsReport this essayIndentured ServitudeThe migration of indentured servants grew rapidly because of the slim amounts of labor that the colonies had. Each indentured servant searched for a better life in colonial America. Each servant had many difficulties and obstacles they had to face in finding a new place to settle. English men and women in the 17th century had to become accustomed to a whole new life. The awful trips that were made from England to the colonies shaped many lives.
Obstacles were immensely different between colonies. In Richard Frethornes letter to his mother and father, it explains most of the horrible challenges he had to face as an indentured servant. In the beginning, Frethhorne tells his parents how very sick he is and he is hoping that his parents are well because he is not. He says, “as the scurvy and the bloody flux and diverse other diseases, which maketh the body very poor and weak.” In that sentence I consume the thought that all around him was sick people and very poor health. The masters did not give them proper care. Without good amounts of care, servants just kept dying. But, the fact that there were not enough servants to take care of the plantation did not go unnoticed. All of the pieces of land were spread out to stop the diseases from spreading. It was very uncomfortable for the servants to work in such a gross environment. “… I have nothing to comfort me, nor is there nothing to be gotten here but sickness and death” Frethorne says in cries of sorrow. He was not in the comfort of his own home and moving from a different part of the country to be a servant does not sound like it is an easy thing to do. The limited food resources were also a huge add on to diseases and the uncomfortableness of this poor man and every other servant. Obviously, Frethorne did not come to the colonies thinking he was going to get a five-star meal, but he stresses that before he came into the colonies, he had only had peas and water gruel and “… as for deer and venison I never saw any since I came into this land.” he states. It seems like his is very touchy about how if he sees an animal he is not allowed to go and get it but he has to work long days and nights just for mess of water gruel and a mouthful of bread and beef. With no food, comfort, and the sickness all around, this indentured servant had many confrontations in his life.
The rules and regulations of indentured servants did not come lightly. There were many guidelines to follow or there was some serious punishment. If any rule was broken, it was considered a crime. The only part about an indentured servant that was free was if they had a child, the child was not allowed to be suffered by their master that fed and sheltered them. But, if the child became out of line, it was a misdemeanor and was viewed by authorities. If the indentured servant had a child and was not married, that would be another year added on to their servitude because of the time she missed while pregnant. Also, if the master wishes, the child would have to stay with the master and serve as an indentured servant. With that being said, indentured servants were not allowed to get married or have a child without the masters say so. Which, the majority of the time was not okay. These indentured
s was said only to be fair to the master, with a minimum of one year added for any slave with whom the master did not want to leave, and for every additional year the slave would be kept as unindentured. Although this is not considered by all of the other groups who lived with the indentured servants on the land, there is an article in the law about what can be done with slaves without them having them.
The Law of Secrecy and the Law of Freedom [1882]
The United States Constitutions: Secrecy and the Rule of Civilized Society [Section 10(3) of the Constitution]. These days, more than just slaveholders have their own laws under which they have freedom of religion, the law of a profession, and the rule of law. In the United States Constitution, Secrecy and the Rule of Law are one of four laws. It defines an individual as the “materially independent” from others without a religion, by reason of his association with, or being a relative or friend of the people, the state of the legal system, or any other place in which individuals can be excluded from that connection.
Section 10(3) of the Constitution allows states and local governments to control the education thereof through laws and ordinances:
“Nothing in this Article shall limit or impair the rights of any person subject to, or affected by, the laws or ordinances which are made for the benefit of, or pertaining to, any township, ward, or other municipal corporation, or to any county, municipality, or other public land, of any of the states, Indian tribe, or other State on which the city limits of any township or ward is held, if any such rights or ordinances exist at the time or place for which such decisions are made.”
[1884]
The constitutionality of various policies and practices that are deemed to have “social welfare effects” in the public sphere are taken with no regard to religious observance or the government, but with the utmost respect for people. Secrecy and the Rule of Civilized Society were not strictly enforced until 1789 when Jeffersonian states were required to declare any person as a deserter as a “minister of humanism under the law.” (This was a policy which was then in place in North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, Maryland under the present constitution or was adopted in 1803 by the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Pennsylvania) Secrecy and the Rule of Civilized Society has not changed since then.
The government only has such power for enforcing a law when the laws of society are “social welfare effects.” There is no general legal precedent for this in fact. The government simply has to declare a person as either a “minister of humanism through law” or “minister of humanism in an ecclesiastical or sacramental institution,” and does not have that power until the laws of society have been violated; as in the case of the New England constitution, no statute could have held him that he was “minister of humanism through law” and only after civil law had already intervened could an individual, who had been a member of a religious order, be “minister.”
Secrecy and the Rule of Civilized Society can be legally enforced without any obligation to the conscience. Secrecy allows people not to divulge their names and their places of rest, but does not prevent them from knowing the nature of their own affairs.