Could slavery in the American South avoid being racialized?

By the time of the formation of the USA indentures were no longer being allowed. Also indentures were for a limited time (7 years max I think), and not renewable. Things like "selling" children in to serfdom/indenture would not be legal. Furthermore I doubt that after the cessation of the importation of African slaves (1809), using this as a dodge to import more "slaves" would not be acceptable to any but the states of the deep south (not even the states of the upper south would go for this).

White masters/overseers using black women was OK (sort of). The problem is white serfs, who are white skinned which is what counts, having even informal slave marriages with black women. Even worse, if any of the female serfs are white (or passable white children from white/ mulatto slave relationships), them having any sex with black men especially consensual, is waaaay over the line.

Not all of the whites in the south were pale/freckled Irish. Descendants of French and Spanish origin folks (Florida, Louisiana, parts of Mississippi and Alabama in particular) are Mediterranean in skin tone.
 
White masters/overseers using black women was OK (sort of). The problem is white serfs, who are white skinned which is what counts, having even informal slave marriages with black women. Even worse, if any of the female serfs are white (or passable white children from white/ mulatto slave relationships), them having any sex with black men especially consensual, is waaaay over the line.
White masters/overseers using black women was OK (sort of). The problem is white serfs, who are white skinned which is what counts, having even informal slave marriages with black women.
Strong social prohibitions in any society against anything routinely get bent or broken once an influential groups decides that it is in their interest to do so. In the case in question, the social prohibition against inter racial relations could be easily circumvented by the planters reminding the population that imported serfs were at best, only partially white.

Heck, some planters may even tacitly encourage serfs to have relations with blacks as this further reinforced their "non white" label and made keeping them as either helots or de facto slaves more acceptable
Furthermore I doubt that after the cessation of the importation of African slaves (1809), using this as a dodge to import more "slaves" would not be acceptable to any but the states of the deep south (not even the states of the upper south would go for this).
I agree with you in general. The upper south would likely place restrictions on what types of serf "contracts" were permitted. My guess is that the southern US practice would mirror the historical Russian practice. Serfs in more progressive Russian areas (equivelant to US upper south) were accorded a semi free status. For example, serfs in these areas could not be traded or sold etc. In other Russian areas, however, serfdom was de facto slavery complete with the buying and selling of people thinly disguised as "contract transfers".
Not all of the whites in the south were pale/freckled Irish. Descendants of French and Spanish origin folks (Florida, Louisiana, parts of Mississippi and Alabama in particular) are Mediterranean in skin tone.
Gulf coast Mississippi and gulf coast Alabama are different than the interior. There would be more successful escapes or merging with mainstream culture with Meditereanean white serfs than blacks. Likewise, not all areas were going to permit the same level of oppressive "contracts".

Ar the same time, Russia abolished serfdom in the 1860s and Poland and Prussia had retained it until the 1830s. My guess is that it was practiced in other areas in eastern Europe until that time as well. Thus, the idea that whites could be classed either as permanent semi free helots or even de facto slaves was not unacceptable. Though importing serfs from the Ottoman Empire would not be the preferred was to remedy a labor shortage, I don't the southern US would reject the idea out of hand either.
 
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