Opportunity Divided essays

Opportunity Divided essays People came to colonial America for several reasons. Possibly the biggest reason was that many believed the economic opportunities were better in the New World then in England. In many cases, these settlers were correct. However, there were several distinguishing factors that said whether a person had certain rights or not. Because of status, indentured servitude, slavery, the need for extra workers, cultivation of the land, and extra space in the colonies, economic opportunity flourished and remained bias at the same time. In colonial times, status was the main reason for some people to have more opportunities then others. The plantation owners and the clergy men held the most power in the community. The common working man, or small farm owners, for the most part had a hard time getting their ideas put into action or their concerns recognized. The first people to stand up for themselves were Bacons Rebellion. As said is an excerpt from Colonial America by Oscar T. Barck, Jr. Bacons Rebellion was ...the first instance in the colonies in which the common people rose not only against the royal governor, but also the rule of the privileged class. This shows that opportunities were not always equal in colonial times. As the colonies began to grow, and before slavery became popular, indentured servitude was the biggest form of labor for those who needed it. Several reasons accounted for this, including the headright system which encouraged the importation of these servants. However, indentured servants had little rights, and colonial America cannot be considered a land of opportunity for these people while in the service of those who paid for their transport to the colonies. Life was tough for indentured servants. Not only were they under a contract that forced them to work for a certain period of time, but Gottlieb Mittelberger also stated in Journey to Pennsylvania ...Euro...