5 The Convict Leasing System
Prisons in the South and West were quite different from those in the Northeast. In the Deep South, the lease system developed. Under the lease system, businesses negotiated with the state to exchange convict labor for the care of the inmates. Prisoners were primarily used for hard, manual labor, such as logging, cotton picking, and railroad construction. Eastern ideas of penology did not catch on in the West, with the exception of California. Prior to statehood, many frontier prisoners were held in federal military prisons.
The convict leasing system is a form of prison labor used in the United States after the Civil War. It represented one of the most controversial and darkest chapters in the history of American corrections. The convict leasing system originated in the southern states during the Reconstruction era. Following the end of the Civil War, the economy of the southern states had virtually collapsed. The slave labor upon which the economy depended was no more due to the abolition of slavery in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
With the loss of their primary labor force, the Southern states seeking new ways to sustain agricultural and industrial productivity introduced the convict leasing system. The idea was to fill the vacuum created by the loss of enslaved labor by using prison inmates who were disproportionately African American due to the criminalization of Black life through Black Codes and vagrancy laws (Alexander, 2012).
These laws were deliberately designed to reestablish control over African Americans through criminalization of their everyday behavior to ensure a steady supply of convict labor for private businesses such as plantations, railroads, and mining companies, in exchange for payment to the state. The Southern states tried to justify the convict leasing system by arguing that it was meant to teach inmates important skills, reduce idleness, and help cover the costs of incarceration (Adamson, 1983).
Development of the Convict Leasing System
Alabama is generally regarded as the state that started the Convict Leasing System which was passed into law in 1846 and lasted until 1941 when President Franklin Roosevelt completely abolished the system on December 12, 1941. Louisiana embarked on the policy of convict leasing at about the same time as Alabama and some have claimed that convict leasing started as early as 1844 in Louisiana. Georgia began to implement the practice in 1868.
Convict leasing was a system of involuntary labor that exploited inmates, compelling them to provide free labor and disproportionately targeted African Americans. Under the convict leasing system, prisoners were leased to private companies or individuals to perform hard labor. This was often under dehumanizing conditions (Lichtenstein, 1996).
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, the convict leasing system spread across the Southern states. Freed African Americans were deliberately targeted and arrested for minor or fabricated crimes. The Southern states were motivated by the need to have a steady supply of cheap and expendable labor for economic activities (Blackmon, 2008). The convict leasing system continued into the early 20th century and has been widely criticized as a continuation of slavery by another name. The prisoners were largely African Americans who were forced to work under terrible conditions marked by extreme brutality, inadequate food, unsanitary conditions, and frequent physical abuse. Deaths among the leased convicts were significantly high, as the prisoners were often seen as expendable labor.
Racial Dimensions and Exploitation
To circumvent the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery, the Southern states capitalized on a clause in the amendment which permitted involuntary servitude as punishment for committing a crime. The Southern states exploited this clause to justify the mass incarceration of African Americans and their subsequent leasing to private industries. The convict leasing system became a means by which the Southern states maintained white supremacy and economic control over newly freed blacks (Oshinsky, 1996).
End of Convict Leasing and Its Legacy
In the early 20th century, the convict leasing system came under increasing attack by antagonists who were alarmed by the cruelty and exploitation. Constant reports of abuse and public outcry eventually led to the gradual abolition of the system. In 1928, Alabama became the last state to formally end convict leasing (Lichtenstein, 1996). The lasting impact of convict leasing on the American criminal justice system continues today.
The prison labor programs that persist today, including chain gangs and modern-day prison industries can be traced to the convict leasing system. In the same vein, the racial disparities in incarceration rates in the contemporary U.S. penal system which disproportionately incarcerates African Americans has been traced to the convict leasing era.