Re "servants": There is no way to determine what baggage was attached to the term "servant" except via close examination of the context and all relevant particulars. In early America, the slave was often called a "servant," while his master--if devout--was a "servant of Christ." Large numbers of immigrants to America were "servants," some with indentures, some without. If "servant" still had some negative connotations by the 19th century, so did "employee"... or for that matter any term for wage labor, which was no one's goal in life (perpetual dependency). For some interesting discussions of "servants" and their status in colonial times, see Richard Morris, Government and Labor in Early America; C. B. Macpherson, Democratic Theory; and Christopher L. Tomlins, Law, Labor, and Ideology in the Early American Republic. Doug Deal History/SUNY Oswego > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html