In one of the most shocking and important periods of American history, indentured servants or slaves were common during the 1700s.  In fact, “slave codes” made it legal for people to own slaves for the rest of their lives. As the need for manual labor grew, so did the use of African American men, women, and children to work the fields and serve the slave masters. In 1865, after President Lincoln passed the 13th amendment, slavery was finally abolished across the nation.