Convict Leasing in Early America

After the Civil War ended, the abolition of slavery created a controversy in the economic motivation of the South over work force and the penal system. However, during the 1800's a new found free labor force known as convict leasing became most popular. Convict leasing allowed wealthy families who bid the highest to lease the convict and use their labor in exchange for food and clothing. The lessee could force the convict do whatever he pleased. Even though the convicts were paying the price of their crime, they were treated very inadequately and did not deserve such harsh punishment in some circumstances. As long as the South accepted that convicts deserved to maintain this level of work just as slaves did, they would never be able to fully move away from the concept of slavery. In other words, convict leasing was just a front for slavery creating a way to undermine the new slave laws of the postbellum period and allowing the South an economic break. In fact, remnants of the convict leasing system are even seen to this day and in the same way allow states to conserve money.

From the beginning of our country's time there have always been misbehaving people who must pay the consequences for their actions. As the United States evolved many systems of punishment were used. Leading up to the Civil War, the penal system was not very sufficient but with the abolition of slavery the system became strict and developed a way to use prisoners as a labor force. The government allowed for the leasing of convicts to people who would provide for the survival of the prisoner and in return could use the prisoner as a servant. He would do all the duties just as a slave would but now had a just reason behind his work.

In the early 1900's, post Civil War, the South wanted to make an adjustment in their economic position so that it was greater and more respectable compared to the North. While also maintaining their agrarian status, they were able to do so through convict leasing. What convict leasing allowed the South to do was maintain free labor to citizens while not violating the new slavery laws and creating a new penal system that was cost efficient. Farmers were able to continue having a work force to uphold their land and keep production going. Slaves were freed, in which most either migrated north or became criminals because of their lack of knowledge about the free world. This eventually got them into many a predicament. The majority of slaves that did not become convicts ended up working for their previous owner. Sharecropping also became popular as a contrary to convict leasing. Ex-slaves would care for and live off of a certain amount of the land lord's crops. In return they would give the land lord a measurement of the crops as payment. This system still gave whites the superiority of the mainly black ex-slave population. Another goal of the South was to not let the new population of freed slaves to become of equal social status as the public. Land lords often created a system where the ex-slave would have to give them so much of the crops grown to pay for essential needs, for example clothing or books. The unfortunate situation was that the share croppers never made enough profit to sustain themselves and once again ended upon the street and/or in debt. This resulted in a higher possibility of them becoming criminals.

The effects of convict leasing are reflected in daunting statistics. In 1883, ten percent of Alabama's total revenue was derived from convict leasing while in 1898, it jumped all the way to seventy-three percent of total revenue coming from this same source. Death rates of prisoners also soared when this system became well accepted. The death rate of convicts in lease states was approximately ten times the death rates of prisoners in non-lease states. One incredible fact that was looked over by many is in 1873 twenty-five percent of all black leased convicts died. Knowing these statistics you have to look at again how this penal system was benefiting the state economically.

The threat of northern progression in the industry business left the south in a frantic condition to catch up. Southern states could not keep up with the costs