Several things distinguished slavery from indentured servitude. First, indentured servants willingly entered into their position, whereas slaves were forced into slavery. Secondly, indentured servitude was temporary. The servants agreed to work for a period of time (usually 5–7 years) as indentured servants in exchange for passage to America, and they usually received some land when their period of servitude ended. Slavery, on the other hand, was almost always permanent. The children of slaves were automatically slaves and would also remain slaves forever, as would their children, and their children's children, etc.
The final major difference is that slavery was tied to race. Whites were not enslaved. Slavery became strictly associated with being black. As time went on and the system of slavery became increasingly codified in America, stricter laws were passed that denied slaves any rights (slaveowners could do whatever they wanted to them) and made things like teaching a slave to read illegal.
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