Bound by Labor and a New World: The Origins of Labor in Colonial America.
By Connor Morris
September 28, 2026
The story of American labor is often characterized by the conflict between employees and corporations to establish greater security and equity in the workplace. When we think about labor in modern America, institutions such as the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Fair Labor and Standards Act might come to mind. These institutions have come about during the past century due to the rapid growth of industrialization, urbanization, and the middle class. But what was life like for the American worker before the dawn of industrialization? To understand the history of labor in the United States, we must venture back to before its founding. Between 1607 and 1776, the American colonial period was a story of endurance, survival, and self-discovery for the thousands of Europeans, African slaves, and indigenous peoples who sought to embrace a new society in North America. Many of us often imagine this time as a period of crude social hierarchy where working-class people were perpetually disenfranchised. And in many ways, this description is true for the lived experiences for thousands of poor whites, African slaves, and Native Americans. However, labor in the colonial period was also largely shaped by the social conditions of 17th century Europe, European legal and social traditions, and the physical environment that European settlers endured in North America.
Prior to American colonization, North America was inhabited by many indigenous nations who relied on the land for hunting and agriculture. However, by the turn of the 17th century, European nations such as the Spanish, French, Dutch, and English began to colonize portions of what is now the modern United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. But what drove the colonization and mass migration of Europeans to the New World? The initial driving force behind colonization was the desire for European nations to increase their production of raw materials and to establish greater sources for trade beyond their borders. Colonies, like those founded in North America, provided an abundant and near infinite source for raw materials and wealth that promoted a higher level of self-sufficiency and economic independence for the nations of Europe. This practice, known as ‘mercantilism’, promoted the creation of government-sponsored companies to expand the political and economic influence of Europe by way of colonization. Examples included the Dutch East India Company and the Virginia Company. The Virginia Company, specifically, founded the first successful English colony in North America known as ‘Jamestown’ in 1607. The English colonial presence in North America later grew to include the land between New England and the Carolinas. Early on, the colonial economy began to regionally differentiate itself between north and south. In the south, the warm climate allowed for the large-scale cultivation of valuable cash crops such as indigo, rice, and tobacco. In contrast, the colder climate and less fertile soil of the northern colonies discouraged large-scale farming and instead promoted the growth of merchant communities focused on ship-building and trade.
National and economic interests might be able to explain the practice of mercantilism and the desire to expand European markets, but what about the personal motivations that drove thousands of individuals to leave their homes and venture across the sea to a new and hazardous world? In truth, there were countless reasons why people and families made the voyage to America. Famous examples include the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony and the search for religious freedom in the New World. However, religious freedom only accounted for a portion of European immigration to America. In reality, many of the thousands of Europeans who sailed to America were as much bound to their labor as they were to the New World itself. Many Europeans left in search of opportunity and a better life.
During the eve of colonization, life in England for many commoners was filled with hardships. A largely agricultural society, 16th century England saw a push for land enclosure, which resulted in the privatization of previously common land farmed by the people and transformed it into specialized farming land owned by a small number of wealthy landowners. Land enclosure was promoted during this time in an attempt to utilize the land to produce specific, specialized products for trade. Common examples during this time were the rearing of sheep and the manufacturing of wool. However, the privatization of the land led to many commoners being evicted. Where people could not find work as tenant farmers or laborers for landowners and parishes, many fled to the growing English cities, such as London, for refuge. Widespread poverty during this time led to a class of idle vagrants and beggars across England. Those characterized as the ‘undeserving poor’ were stripped of their rights as Englishmen and their idleness was punished heavily during the 16th and 17th centuries, with many of the poor imprisoned by the state.
These harsh conditions in 16th and 17th century England led many of the poor to bind themselves to labor in order to gain access to the New World. Proponents of immigration to the colonies, known as ‘spirits’, scouted out the poor and destitute among the streets of London to sell to them the idea of America; which was described as a world of infinite land and opportunity. Whether these spirits were sincere or not in their pitch, many of the poor of England sold themselves into indentured servitude as a means to pay for the voyage and find a new life in America. Indentured servitude soon made up a large portion of the working class that migrated to the colonies. Indentured servitude was the act of contractually binding yourself and your labor to another party for a set period of time until set free. After surviving the long voyage and arriving in America, the European migrants would be sold as servants and were obligated to adequately perform the work dictated by their masters until their contract was fulfilled.
The life of an indentured servant varied by the nature of their work, their master, and the reason for their being in North America. Firstly, the work performed by indentured servants varied depending on their skills and their location within the colonies. Indentured servants in the South, whether they be European or Native American, were often put to work in plantations harvesting cash crops like rice and tobacco. Servants bound to work in the southern plantations would have experienced an environment of intense heat and physicality. In contrast, some servants were bound to a master in order to learn a specific trade. Families would often place their children into servitude for a set period of time in order for them to learn a skilled trade as an apprentice. Once their term of service was completed, these indentured servants would gain their freedom, full rights, and the ability to practice their trade freely. The treatment of servants by a master also varied greatly in the American colonies. Some masters were very harsh in their treatment and punishment of servants, while others cared for their servants quite well and even considered them a part of their household during the time of servitude. A master’s treatment also depended on the reason for a servant’s arrival within the colonies. As discussed prior, England in the 17th century was so opposed to idleness and wickedness of the poor and criminal class, that vagrants and felons were transported to the American colonies as a means to serve out their punishment. Masters were far harsher in treating and punishing felons under their care due to both their resentment of their being shipped to America and their skepticism that such rogues could perform honest work without resorting back to a life of crime.
Despite the life of servitude that many laborers in colonial America had to endure during their first several years in the New World, the relationships between servants and masters were just as dynamic and regulated in 17th century America as are the relationships between employees and employers today. Given their state of bondage, colonial laws set high expectations on indentured servants regarding their labor and commitment to their contract. Colonial law dictated that servants remain obedient to their masters and fulfill the expectations of their labor as set by their masters. Any disobedience, idleness, or escape from servitude could result in a loss of pay or imprisonment. However, colonial law also established protections for servants in bondage as well. For example, colonial law in Virginia required masters to provide a “competent diet, clothing, and lodging” to their servants. Servants, at least “Christian whites”, were protected from cruel corporal punishment by the hands of their masters. Masters were also expected to care for servants in times of sickness and to provide “freedom dues” to their servants upon the end of their contract. Freedom dues often included money, clothes, and corn. If any master were to violate these statutes, the servant could bring them to court for restitution.
However, regardless of the reason for their presence in America, indentured servants had the opportunity to gain their freedom and rise through the social ranks. In his book, “Servants and Servitude in Colonial America”, author, Russell Lawson, describes various examples of indentures servants accomplishing extraordinary things after gaining their freedom. One such example includes Scandinavian, Hugh Gunninson, who travelled from England to America in the 1630s and was bound by a master named Richard Bellingham. By the 1640s, Gunnison was not only a free man with voting rights in Boston but also employed servants of his own for his trade as a vintner. Perhaps the most famous example of an indentured servant was Benjamin Franklin. At a young age, Franklin was indented to his brother as a printing apprentice until he left for Philadelphia in 1723. From there, Franklin became an accomplished printer, statesman, and Founding Father of the United States.
Despite the harsh reality of indentured servitude for thousands of immigrants in colonial America, there clearly existed many avenues for success beyond the term of their contract. In many ways, the opportunities for indentured servants in colonial America were far greater than those found in England and other parts of Europe. Here, common people could start their existence as servants to a master and finish as a tradesman, politician, landowner, voter, and master of their own servants. However, one class of laborers in colonial America that did not experience the same level of growth and possibility were slaves. From the moment Europeans set foot on the continent, poor whites and Native Americans were placed into servitude. The cash crops in the southern colonies, however, led to the mass importation of African slaves by the 17th century. As described by Joshua Rosenbloom in his article, “The Colonial American Economy”, there was a great abundance in land in North America with a small labor population to exploit it. While this led to easy access into farming and a high standard of living for European landowners, it also facilitated the African slave trade due to the need for a large amount of human capital to produce the myriads of crops popular in the European market. In an attempt to upscale the cultivation of rice and tobacco, southern farmers realized that white indentured servitude was too small and less abundant to meet the size of production. African slaves served as a cheap and abundant source of labor. Whereas white indentured servants had a higher turnover rate with their ability to gain freedom at the end of their contract, African slaves could be held in perpetual bondage. As author, Russell Lawson, observed in “Servants and Servitude in Colonial America”, the disenfranchisement of poor whites kept in indentured servitude between the 17th and 18th centuries was surely challenged by the radical ideas of the American Revolution. However, the concern of disenfranchisement for African slaves would not be reconciled until the Civil War.
The life for indentured servants in colonial America was a mixture of hardship, disenfranchisement, and endless possibility. Despite the glaring inequality for African Slaves and indentured Native Americans, the optimism of early American life paved the way for a society where any person could rise above their station and achieve success purely by the fruits of their labor. While there was a long road ahead for achieving social progress by the end of the colonial period, the possibilities exploited by the working class of colonial America would lay the foundations for a land of opportunity.
References:
Baldwin, Leland. Kelley, Robert. The Stream of American History. American Book Company, 1965.
Lawson, Russell. Servants and Servitude in Colonial America. Praeger, 2018.
Rosenbloom, Joshua. The Colonial American Economy. Iowa State University, 2018.
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