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Convict Leasing

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Unknown to many people is that even after the Civil War and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments had been established slavery was still going on. The information is just one of the many things that has been covered-up throughout history. Before the Civil War started slavery was going on, after the Civil War ended the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment stated that all free people were citizens, and the 15th Amendment said all black men could vote. A little time after the Civil War and the 13th-15th Amendments new crimes, convict leasing, and peonage were established. New crimes were established after the Civil War by white southerners. They established the new crimes because they didn’t like that African Americans had the same …show more content…

When convict leasing started it wasn’t very popular, but as states found out how much of a profit they made from it, it became more common. Convict leasing made up for the loss the south had had after slavery had been abolished. In 1890 Alabama made $164,000 in a year off of convict leasing, which is $4.1 million today. It also became another form of slavery. After people were arrested they were leased to companies in the south as a work force until their sentence ended. Some prisoners, were even worked to death because they worked all day in unsafe conditions. When there was a large work force needed, authorities would arrest large numbers of people to work. Since the prisoners weren’t looked as property they were treated worse than the slaves had been treated, making it worse than …show more content…

New crimes caused African Americans to have a harder time to get better jobs, good education, help from northerners, and more power in society. Convict leasing ended up being worse than slavery because the prisoners were weren’t looked at as property. As more people feared fines and jail time peonage became less common. Convict leasing and peonage were two new forms of slavery, even after slavery was supposed to be abolished. Information about the new crimes the established, convict leasing, and peonage among many other things throughout history are unknown to many

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