Convict Leasing (ID)

Currently in my U.S Economics class we are learning about Convict Leasing. Convict Leasing was a system of penal labor practiced in the southern states of the USA. Black prisoners were leased to employers for low pay or sometimes to work as a way to pay off a debt without receiving any pay. The practice of this system first started when slaves were first emancipated at the end of the Civil War in 1865 and did not end until 1928.

The way in which the government imprisoned so many blacks during that era was through the Pig Laws. Pig Laws were a system of minor petty laws that could land any black in jail. An example were the Vagrant Laws. If a black was found homeless or just roaming the streets with no destination he could be charged and sentenced to prison. Once in prison they could be leased to perform all types of labors at corporations and plantations.

The entire point of the Convict Leasing System was to regain power of the black labor force. After slaves were emancipated the southern economy crumbled. It was the black labor force that had been bringing in the real money to the southern states. Southern whites realized that they needed blacks for their economy to prosper and their response to that was the Convict Leasing System.