Explain why indentured servants and other poor whites were given more rights than slaves or free blacks during the early 1800's

<Tab/>Because black indentured servants were treated as slaves even before the establishment of slavery in America, it is easy to conjecture that economic opportunities were made available to white settlers by oppressing the black minority. However, it is more accurate to say that the elite whites of colonial society did not deny blacks the opportunity for economic advancement so much as they made it easier for formerly-indentured whites to establish …

…drove planters to depend more and more on African slaves for labor. As the lines between classes were more and more solidified, even the poorest whites were considered higher on the social pyramid than slaves. Therefore, it was a stratification of the social hierarchy and a system that promoted a gap between the white and blacks, and not an outright discrimination against blacks, that originally lead to the formation of more economic opportunities for whites.