[JohnGalt]

It's called indentured servitude; it's how my ancestors came to this country.

[jimkress]

BINGO! You got it correct.

The only difference was that indentured servitude was for a specified length of time after which the indentured one was free to leave.

[Joe Driscoll]

I thought it was called marriage?

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

I think there is a LARGE difference between indentured servitude and slavery.
Slaves are property, period. They have no rights to enter into a contract. They can be bought or sold at will and can be bred like cattle and their children will likewise be slaves.
An indentured servant has rights outside the relationship with a master. An Indentured servant can contract his services for a lifetime but cannot likewise (from a libertarian perspective) contract others without their permission.
So, the situation you describe is indentured servitude and not slavery. You can sell yourself into servitude but you cannot sell your children into slavery.

[Protagoras]

It's called indentured servitude; it's how my ancestors came to this country

It was a great thing that people were allowed to make that contract without government interference, otherwise we would be missing your good counsel.

[Melinator]

Graduates of Law School are required to go through the "articling" process and pass a bar exam before being allowed into practice. "Articles of Indentureship" is the formal name for the process. It used to be that Law grads were not even paid during their articles. They are paid now, but considerably less than a lawyer who is licensed to practice before a State Bar.