Sell yourself - Indenture servents

Selling one's labor for a period of time was common in colonial America  Your body became a means of credit - labor for a life, or a skill  This allowed some to gain access to a better living conditions  Not all were so fortunate, laws suits were used to force the contract agreements  Read the article from Delanceyplace Here

Source Delanceyplace.com   The Economy of Colonial America by Edwin J. Perkins