At the beginning of American history, there was a slave class, not African-born but English, Scottish or Irish indentured servants who either sold themselves or had themselves sold for debt. They were called indentured servants.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, almost 13 percent of student-loan borrowers of all ages owe more than $50,000, and nearly 4 percent owe more than $100,000. These debts are beyond students’ ability to repay, (especially in our nearly jobless recovery); this is demonstrated by the fact that delinquency and default rates are soaring. Some 17 percent of student-loan borrowers were 90 days or more behind in payments at the end of 2012.
via Student Debt and the Crushing of the American Dream – NYTimes.com.