JD Vance calls Indian workers ‘indentured servants’: What the term means and its history

The term “indentured servants” has drawn attention after US Vice President JD Vance used it while discussing foreign workers and the Trump administration’s push to prioritise American employees. Speaking on Thursday, Vance said foreign and domestic companies must “employ American workers” and “cannot lay off American workers and then replace them with foreign indentured servants.”

His remarks came as the US Department of Labor announced the suspension of Microsoft, Adobe and several major Indian information technology companies from the Permanent Labor Certification programme. The suspension means the companies cannot use the programme to apply for permanent residency for employees on H-1B visas.

While Vance used the term in the context of contemporary foreign employment, indentured servitude has a specific historical meaning rooted in labour contracts that were prevalent in North America during the colonial period.


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What does indentured servant mean?

An indentured servant was a person bound by a contract to work for a master for a fixed period. In exchange, the master generally provided food and shelter and, in some cases, money or property known as “freedom dues” when the contract ended.

Indentured servitude was prevalent in North America from the early 17th century, although it declined during the first decades after the American Revolution. It was one of several forms of unfree labour used to support agricultural and artisanal industries in the colonies.

Under an indenture agreement, a person, whether a man, woman or child, agreed to work for a specified number of years. Once the contract expired, the individual was released from the obligation and became free.

Historical records document different forms of indenture, including contracts for servants, apprentices and redemptioners. Although all involved arrangements for a period of service, the circumstances and terms differed.

How did indentured servitude work?

An indentured servant typically signed a contract before travelling to the American colonies, often with the captain of the ship carrying them. The agreement allowed the cost of the journey to be covered through the sale of the contract after arrival. The captain would generally sell the contract to a prospective master, often the highest bidder.

Redemptioners followed a different arrangement. They travelled without signing an indenture contract beforehand and were given a few days after arriving to find someone willing to employ them. If they failed to secure an agreement, the ship’s captain could sell their contract as an indenture. Many redemptioners came from areas that are now part of Germany.

Apprenticeship contracts, meanwhile, specified the trade or skill an apprentice was expected to learn during the period of service. Apprentices often came from the area around Philadelphia, and contracts could be signed by the apprentices themselves or by their guardians. Boys, as well as some girls, entered apprenticeships as young as 12 and typically served until they turned 21.

Why did people become indentured servants?

During the 18th century, approximately half of all migrants from Britain, Ireland and other parts of Europe who travelled to North America did so through indentured servitude, according to the historical account provided.

Many sought better opportunities but came from difficult circumstances, including poverty, starvation, war and political persecution. Some people entered such arrangements to avoid imprisonment or as punishment for criminal acts.

Children could also be placed in apprenticeships, sometimes without parental approval. In Philadelphia, the House of Employment bound some children to apprenticeship arrangements.

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Indentured servitude and slavery were different

Although indentured servitude was part of the wider system of unfree labour in British North America, it must be distinguished from slavery. Indentured servants were generally bound for a defined period under a contract and were released when their term ended. Enslaved people, by contrast, were subjected to a separate system of forced labour and were not covered by the same time-limited contractual arrangement.

The distinction is particularly important in understanding migration to colonial North America. Africans were forcibly transported rather than migrating voluntarily, and enslaved people accounted for the largest number of migrants to North America during the 18th century. In a dataset covering 1771 to 1773, enslaved people represented one in every five residents of the colonies.

The historical meaning of indentured servitude therefore refers to a specific labour system in which individuals were contractually bound to serve for a set period. Vance’s use of the term in a modern debate about foreign workers and employment visas is a contemporary political reference, distinct from the historical arrangements described above.