Poor laws requiring poor and dependent children to serve apprenticeships were popular in England but never gained momentum in the American colonies.

Question

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Poor laws requiring poor and dependent children to serve apprenticeships were actually quite prevalent in the American colonies, particularly in the northern ones such as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. These laws were intended to provide impoverished children with skills and education, but were often abused by masters who treated their apprentices as little more than indentured servants.

Poor Laws Requiring Poor and Dependent Children to Serve Apprenticeships