It is commonly believed that slavery was a direct consequence of racism and that it appeared suddenly. Racism, in fact, developed gradually and was the consequence of some entrepreneurial and economic decisions. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In colonial America, there were three contending production systems in Labor. There was the plantation system, which consisted of having large farms and hired or enslaved workers. Another system was family farming in New England and the Middle Colonies, which produced primarily for the family and local community. The third production system was craftsmanship. There were 100 or more trades (carpentry, printing). The three main forms of European (white) labor were voluntary, semi-voluntary and involuntary. Volunteer workers were either bonded or left of their own accord. The contracts would have agreed to work without pay for a certain period of time. The semi-voluntary workers were mostly young apprentices, while the involuntary workers were deported. Two different experiences occurred in colonial America; one in the town of Jamestown in Chesapeake and the other in New England. Jamestown was founded as a for-profit corporation with God, Glory, Gold as its slogan. Jamestown turned out to be a total disaster. In 1609 only 60 people had survived, of the 800 who arrived in 1607. They had arrived without any real intention of working and only a few were skilled workers. Their dealings with the Indians were disastrous, meaning many people were killed. Most of the deaths were caused by starvation. Tobacco was becoming more and more popular and this helped Jamestown make a lot of money, but it also created economic problems such as labor shortages. Chesapeake could exploit contracts or encourage immigrants. Those who survived reclaimed their land, causing inequalities between rich and poor farmers and creating rebellions such as Bacon's Rebellion in 1676: Nathaniel Bacon, a poor farmer, decided to unite the poor white and black farmers against the rich farmers. Rich planters and militant Indians turned against Bacon. Bacon then tried to get help from the governor who refused. This encouraged Bacon and his followers to find a scapegoat against whom they could vent their frustrations and assign blame for their misfortunes. This scapegoat was the local Indians. The governor wanted to arrest Bacon for raising his own army and because he saw him as a threat. Bacon and the other angry farmers managed to escape from the governor but were pursued by his troops. Bacon began attacking property, looting and eventually razing Jamestown. The followers were all executed. This became a compelling argument for slavery or higher pay. Because wealthy planters wanted to earn as much money as possible, slavery began. White workers were given a higher rank, creating racism to prevent the bond between whites and slaves. On the other hand, things were different in New England. The colonies were founded by Puritans who came not for money, but to build a society. In 1630, J. Winthrop began his mission to found a new city by bringing 700 people from England. 600 of them survived the first winter. What differed from the Jamestown experience was that, in this case, they had come not with the intention of bringing wealth back to England but of finding a Christian utopia. In New England, settlement was tightly controlled. The earth was.